Israel accuses Turkey of occupying parts of Syria, Iraq, Cyprus
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) — Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused Turkey on Wednesday of occupying parts of Syria, Iraq and Cyprus, citing Turkish troops and military bases in the three countries.
In a post on X, the ministry said Turkey had “the audacity to criticize Israel,” while citing what it described as thousands of Turkish troops and dozens of military bases and sites across Syria, Iraq and Cyprus.
The ministry said Turkey occupies 36% of Cyprus, 5% of Syria and about 2,000 square kilometers of Iraq.
It also accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of pursuing military policies without territorial limits.
The 36% figure for Cyprus is broadly consistent with United Nations documents that have cited about 36.2% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus as being under Turkish military occupation. Turkey rejects the description of the northern part of Cyprus as occupied territory and disputes the legal and political characterization of the island’s division.
The Israeli ministry said Israel, by contrast, “temporarily controls only 0.1% of Syria,” describing the area as a buffer zone intended to protect Israeli citizens from what it called “proven security threats.”