Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said on Monday that his country does not want a confrontation with Türkiye in Syria or anywhere else.

This came during a press conference with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaya Kallas in West Jerusalem.

Asked about Türkiye's influence in Syria, Sa'ar said, "We do not want to confront Türkiye in Syria or anywhere else."

On Sunday, Hebrew media outlets, including the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth and Channel 12, reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would hold a meeting with security officials regarding Syria "to discuss the growing Turkish influence" there after the fall of the Baath regime on December 8.

Media outlets added that Netanyahu is "following with concern the rapprochement between the new administration in Syria and Turkey," and that he will discuss what they called "increasing Turkish hegemony in Syria" at the security meeting.

Meanwhile, the Walla news website claimed that the Syrian government is in talks with Türkiye to hand over a military base in the Palmyra area of Homs province in exchange for economic, military, and political aid.

The website said that what it called the "Turkish military presence" that can be seen east of Homs "seriously concerns Israel."

Israeli violations of Syrian sovereignty continue, even though the new Syrian administration, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, has not threatened Tel Aviv in any way.

On December 8, 2024, Syrian factions took control of the country, ending 61 years of Baath Party rule and 53 years of Assad family rule.

Since 1967, Israel has occupied most of the Golan Heights. It exploited the current situation in Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, occupying the Syrian buffer zone and declaring the collapse of the 1974 disengagement agreement between the two sides.