TEL AVIV, August 21. /TASS/. Turkey’s NATO membership does not mean that its servicemen in Syria are automatically protected by Article 5 of the NATO Charter on collective defense, Shay Gal, founder and head of Line of State, a company specializing in strategic planning, access, and security in high-risk environments, stated.

"Just because Turkey is a member state in NATO doesn't mean it is protected in Syria," he wrote in an article for the Israel Hayom newspaper. According to Gal, Israel "studied not only how NATO's Article 5 operates, but where it applies." It "protects Turkish territory; Turkish troops do not carry that territory with them onto Syrian or occupied Cypriot soil," he noted. "Turkish vessels and aircraft operating in the Mediterranean raise separate treaty questions, but even where Article 5 applies, collective action is not automatic. NATO acts by consensus, and each member state determines the response it deems necessary," the expert noted.

He pointed out that on August 18, Israel "allegedly struck Syria's Abu al-Duhur air base before Turkish forces arrived." According to him, the apparent "doctrine" is to "deny infrastructure before the flag lands - because once Turkish troops arrive, striking also risks Turkish casualties, retaliation, American intervention." Accordingly, Israel did not wait for Turkish troops, aircraft, radar or air defense systems. It destroyed the infrastructure required to receive them before the threat became entrenched," Gal stressed.

Earlier, Syria TV reported that on Tuesday, Israeli Air Force aircraft carried out strikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airfield in the Idlib governorate. According to the TV channel, the attacks resulted in only material damage. Following this, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel would not tolerate a Turkish military presence in Syria that threatened it. In turn, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of endangering Turkey by engaging in "dangerous gambles" in Syria. Previously, Netanyahu’s office stated that Syria was "close to undermining" the security status quo with Israel by effectively allowing the deployment of Turkish troops at an airbase in northern Syria.