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From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Turkey’s warning to the SDF masks a broader bid to dominate post Assad Syria - Suzan Quitaz
by Suzan Quitaz
Turkey has a grand ambition in Syria and sees Israel and the SDF posing a major hurdle for it to achieve its grand goal, which is the recovery of its declining economy.
Armed members of the Syrian
Democratic Forces' (SDF) military police take part in a demonstration
under the banner “With our will, we will protect our revolution”, in
Qamishli, Syria, September 17, 2025. (photo credit: REUTERS/Orhan Qereman)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan issued a stark warning to the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF),
which control most of Syria’s oil-rich northeast. As the deadline of
the March Deal approaches, Fidan warned the SDF to agree to integrate
into the Syrian army or “risk losing eroding international patience”.
In other words, Turkey’s patience, which is looking for every chance to launch a military operation against the Kurdish region in Syria,
Rojava. The operation aims to destroy the SDF and dissolve the
autonomous structures Kurds have built over the past decade and a half
in northeast Syria.
Turkey
has a grand ambition in Syria and sees Israel and the SDF posing a
major hurdle for it to achieve its grand goal, which is the recovery of
its declining economy.
Turkey is Syria’s
largest trading partner. Turkish exports have increased substantially
since the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime a year ago, with a 49.3% annual
uptick in the first months of 2025.
Turkish
companies are lining up to take the lion’s share of rebuilding Syria, a
move that will bring a lifeline to its struggling economy but also
further consolidate Ankara’s political control in Syria since the fall
of Bashar Assad.
Turkish
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during an interview with Reuters at
the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum, in Doha, Qatar, December 6,
2025 (credit: REUTERS/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)
A 'decentralised, fragmented' Syria
Turkey
strongly opposes the formation of an autonomous Kurdish entity in
Syria's northeast and wishes to see the end of the SDF. It has also
accused Israel of stirring chaos in order to create a “decentralised,
fragmented” Syria, following Israeli army strikes on military targets in
Syria, and for aiding the Druze community after coming under attacks by
various militias with some directly linked to the Al-Shaara regime.
Turkish
media have started beating the drums of war against SDF, signalling
that Al-Sharaa and Erdogan will launch a military offensive if SDF
continue opposing integration into the Syrian army.
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post
on December 7, SDF Chief Commander Mazloum Abdi stated that the US
should continue “supporting the SDF”, adding that the SDF “must be
included in the global coalition against ISIS and the new government of
Syria”.
Contradictory
reports are coming from the US administration, with US President Donald
Trump endorsing the leadership of Syrian leader Al-Shaara and giving
less and less support to the SDF, whereas the US army is still openly
supporting the SDF.
The US army’s continued support of SDF has played a major role in deterring Turkish forces from invading Rojava.
Turkish
media has accused Israel of strengthening and hardening the SDF’s
stance. Nedim Sener a columnist at Hurriyet, a pro-government newspaper,
wrote “The SDF … is now in Zionist Israel’s lap...Israel is the only
hope left for the SDF", adding "It is clear that Israel's policy to
'divide and tear apart' Syria conflicts with the US's strategy to
preserve its unitarian structure... Israel continues to act against [the
US] with its strategy to divide Syria via the SDF," Sener penned.
The
campaign to discredit the SDF and deny Kurdish rights in Syria has
taken a new low with inconsistent narratives being thrown at the SDF and
Kurds in general from Syrian and Turkish nationalists and Islamists.
One
narrative accuses General Abdi and the Kurds of being “Zionist puppets”
and “agents of Israel”, and another claims that “an SDF delegation has
had a meeting with Hezbollah and with former officers of Assad’s regime
in Lebanon”.
In
spite of the looming Turkish military threat against the SDF, Gen. Abdi
has stated that 2026 will mark a historical turning point for Kurdish
unity and constitutional rights across the region, an assertion that
stands in sharp contrast to what Ankara is demanding.
The
Saudi media giant, Sky News Arabia, reported on December 21, that Gen.
Abdi outlined an ambitious vision, predicting that the year 2026 will be
the year of “Kurdish National Confederation," reporting him saying,
“Our enemies claim that the end of this year will be the end of the
Kurds, the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the Rojava project. But the
truth is completely different: it is the beginning of our great
project”.
As
the year draws to a close, the two opposing narratives set the stage
for a potentially problematic 2026, with Kurds rightly fighting for
their political survival, while the other is pushing for erasing it
through military force. One thing is for sure: Kurds will never give up
on their distinct identity or their struggle for Kurdish rights to be
upheld.
Suzan Quitaz is a Kurdish-Swedish journalist and researcher on Middle Eastern
affairs. She was an Israel-based journalist and podcast presenter for
an Arabic and English series, “Exposing the Lies – The Voice of Truth
from the Middle East" at The Jerusalem Centre for Security and Foreign
Affairs. Previously worked as a field Producer and Journalist at a
number of Qatari media outlets
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