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Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-906258
Ex-Mossad Official: Turkey Unlikely to Risk Military Clash with Israel despite Erdogan's Ambitions
(103FM-Jerusalem Post) Former Mossad counterterrorism division head Oded Ailam told 103FM on Friday that a military confrontation between Israel and Turkey was highly unlikely despite Turkish President Erdogan's long-term strategy of regional expansion. "Neither side is interested in a military confrontation, certainly not at the present time. That is completely contrary to Erdogan's outlook and to his strategy of creeping annexation." "Erdogan is not nostalgically longing for the Ottoman era. He has an organized plan of action. His plan is a multiyear one that says, 'I am going to pursue the creeping annexation of entire areas across the region, in Libya, Somalia and Africa, and of course, in Gaza.' He is not going to jeopardize it through a confrontation with one of the greatest powers in the region, Israel, and therefore the chances of a military confrontation are extremely slim, virtually zero." "Israel did well to draw a clear line in the sand for the Turks. There is a very blatant violation of the status quo here by the Turks. This is an attempt to bring in an advanced system that would have disrupted Israeli Air Force flights to Iran."