Israel is running out of chances to block Turkey from being involved in various projects in the Middle East, a source with knowledge of the matter told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
The Turkish president is evidently seeking a foothold in Syria as well as the interim policing body in Gaza. While Israel has sought to block any Turkish involvement in Gaza, sources say Jerusalem's options may be limited.
“There is a limit to how many times Israel can say ‘no’ to Trump regarding President Erdoğan. Everyone knows how fond Trump is of him, and after Israel said no to Turkish forces in Gaza, the question is how many more ‘no’s remain," a source told the Post.
Ahead of the Paris meetings, Erdoğan held a phone call with Trump, which also addressed the issue of Turkish involvement in Syria.
For the first time since October, senior Israeli and Syrian officials are expected to meet in Paris on Tuesday under American auspices.
Leading the Israeli delegation will be Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, Military Secretary Roman Gofman, and a senior official from the National Security Council. Representing Syria will be the Syrian foreign minister; Tom Barrack will attend as the American envoy.
Several preparatory meetings were held on Monday evening ahead of the talks.
Israeli officials say that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has introduced new demands, both regarding Israeli withdrawal and Israel’s concerns over the Druze community.
The assessment is that no significant breakthrough is expected in the talks, particularly given that until now, Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer held meetings with Syrian officials, whereas this time a new delegation is involved.
Regarding Gaza, President Erdoğan told Bloomberg in an interview that “it would be difficult for a mechanism without Turkey to gain the trust of the Palestinian people in this regard.”
Israeli, American assessments on Iranian protests
In light of images from Iran showing that protests are becoming increasingly violent, Israel and the United States assess that only in a few days, it will it become clear whether these protests could potentially lead to the fall of the regime, or whether they represent another wave similar to those seen in recent years.
Officials in Washington and Jerusalem say that Iran has not yet deployed its most significant capabilities or special forces to suppress the demonstrations, indicating that there is not yet dramatic panic within the regime.
“It’s not that there is no concern, but there is also no total panic among the regime’s leadership," a Western diplomat familiar with intelligence assessments told the Post.
President Trump also warned Iran’s leadership that the United States is closely monitoring the protests. “If they kill protesters like they did in the past, they will be hit very hard by the United States,” Trump told reporters.