Danon Warns of Potential Dangers with Islamist Forces in Syria, US Officials Fear Turkish Invasion of Northern Syria

Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon spoke to Israeli media and said that multiple countries, including Russia, France, and Syria, have already complained about Israel’s actions in Syria: “They claim that we are invading, taking over and occupying. These are allegations that we reject.”  

“Our position is clear, we have taken defensive measures to ensure that extremist Islamist forces do not take over positions on our border and we are waiting to see whether the government in Syria stabilizes and whether the borders are going to be quiet or not,” he said. 

He also spoke of the effort to replace UNRWA given its ties to the Hamas terrorist organization. Moving in that direction, the Dutch Parliament recently passed a bill to gradually cut off funding to UNRWA, joining 12 other former donor nations that already have.  

Meanwhile, Turkey has been recently building up troops on its border with Syria, causing US officials to fear that Ankara is planning a major invasion into territories controlled by the US-backed Kurds.  

Senior US officials told American media on Monday night, December 16, that the Turkish forces on the border include militia fighters, Turkish uniformed commandos, and a large force of artillery. The troop buildup is concentrated near Kobani, a Kurdish-majority city in Syria on the northern border with Turkey.  

The officials said that the invasion could be imminent and the current troop buildup appears similar to Turkish military moves ahead of its 2019 invasion of northeast Syria. (INN / VFI News)