Syrian Power Struggle: Turkiye and ‘Israel’ Clash Over 'David's Corridor' Plan

As the Syrian opposition forces battled to liberate cities from Bashar al-Assad's regime, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), allied with the U.S. and “Israel,” tightened their grip on Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and the city of Manbij in Aleppo province.

The SDF's control over these cities means they are now just hundreds of kilometers from the al-Tanf border crossing, where Syria's borders meet Jordan and Iraq. From there, they could continue westward towards the occupied Golan Heights in southern Syria.

This move is part of the completion of the "David's Corridor" project, which “Israel” envisions as a link to Iraq, furthering the dream of a promised land.

The "Promised Land" is the ultimate goal of Zionism, referring to the territory promised by God to the biblical figure Jacob (Israel) according to the Torah. 

It is believed to stretch from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River in Iraq.

The United States plans to establish this corridor between Iraq and “Israel,” leveraging the Kurdish separatists within the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The objective is to normalize relations and extend occupation by land, particularly as the need for this corridor grew after Houthi forces restricted Israel's maritime trade routes and Israel's other maritime ventures via the UAE failed.

However, opposition fighters, with Turkish support, succeeded in liberating the city of Manbij on December 9, followed by Deir ez-Zor on December 10, 2024, fully reclaiming both from the SDF.

This marks a crushing defeat for the Israeli project in Syria, leaving the "David's Corridor" as nothing more than a distant dream.

The ‘David’s Corridor’

With the fall of al-Assad’s regime, “Israel” and the mercenaries of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began implementing the "David's Corridor" project, a land route stretching from the Golan Heights to northern Syria, in preparation for the political and geographical reshaping of the region.

The concept of the "David’s Corridor" is based on linking areas controlled by Kurdish factions loyal to “Israel” and the U.S. in Syria to “Israel,” through the occupied Golan Heights.

Before the fall of al-Assad's regime, and “Israel's” movements from the Golan to seize several new Syrian towns, including the demilitarized zone and Mount Sheikh (‘Mount Hermon’), bringing them within 25 km of Damascus, the plans for the "David’s Corridor" remained merely a dream.

However, following the collapse of the Syrian regime, Kurdish mercenaries working with the U.S. military in eastern and northern Syria quickly moved to occupy cities vacated by the disintegrating Assad regime. At the same time “Israel” advanced to occupy more areas in southern Syria.

The Kurdish control of cities such as Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and Manbij, combined with the Israeli occupation of additional regions around the Golan Heights, brought the dream of this corridor closer to reality.

“Israel” and the U.S. have thus begun moving to implement this long-held vision, which has met with Turkish opposition.

The "David’s Corridor," a plan years in the making, begins in “Israel,” specifically the occupied Golan Heights, then passes through cities in eastern and northern Syria, eventually extending towards Iraq.

It is an old Zionist expansionist plan being revived by the current Israeli ruling class, particularly the religious Zionist faction, exploiting the ongoing wars and the collapse of the Syrian regime.

The corridor has four primary objectives: first, to connect Israel to Syria and Iraq by land; second, to fulfill the alleged biblical dream and the myths surrounding the so-called "Promised Land" by reaching the Euphrates River; third, to establish a Kurdish state or autonomous region in Syria that merges with Iraqi Kurdistan; and fourth, to create a route for “Israel” to arm Kurdish groups, notably the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party).

There is a fifth and unspoken objective: the export of Syrian oil through this corridor from ports in the occupied territories, according to Turkish estimates.

Syrian opposition factions have recognized the goals of this plan and have begun acting against the SDF, driving them out of the cities they occupied, which were intended to be part of this corridor's dream.

Conflicting Visions

“The ‘David's Corrido’ is a project that the Americans worked on a year ago, and called it the Sunni region project that extends from the east of the Euphrates to the west, passing through Area 51 and the Tanf base, reaching southern Syria and meeting the Golan, which means closing the al bukamal crossing and the changes that follow,” wrote the political analyst Mohammed Hawaidi on X.

“This project failed for several factors, the most important of which is the lack of homogeneity of the militias on the ground, as there is a conflict in projects, ideologies and visions, in addition to the Operation al-Aqsa Flood that shuffled the cards and then the tribal revolution against the SDF, and today the Israeli is proposing the project again, so will it be able to implement what the Americans failed to do? The coming days will be sufficient to answer,” he continued. 

In a series of early statements on October 9 and 14, 2024, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan predicted Israeli actions of occupying Syrian territory following al-Assad's downfall, capitalizing on the ensuing chaos.

He warned of Israeli intentions to take control of the Syrian capital, a reality now unfolding as Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have advanced to within just 25 km of southwestern Damascus, after seizing the buffer zone between Syria and “Israel.”

At the time, Erdogan cautioned that Zionist ambitions were not limited to Syria, claiming that “Israel” had included Turkish territory in its plans after Palestine and Lebanon, as part of the "Promised Land" agenda. He called for efforts to thwart these designs.

“Israel's occupation of Damascus will tear up the map of Syria completely,” Erdogan said, “the occupation of Damascus will pose a serious regional threat,” asserting that Turkiye has the capabilities to thwart Israel’s conspiracies.   

In his first response to “Israel's” incursion into Syria, Erdogan declared on December 10, 2024, that “Israel clearly declares that it will occupy Damascus after Lebanon, and this means that Israeli soldiers will reach the borders of Turkey, which will lead to tearing up the map of Syria completely.”

Erodgan stressed that Ankara “will defend urgent and lasting peace in Syria.”

According to Al-Estiklal, Erdogan refers to “Israel” saying, “We will not stand idly by against these extremists, their deviant ideologies, and their sick dreams funded by the powers they rely on.”

The Turkish Foreign Ministry also condemned Israeli violation of the 1974 ‘Disengagement Agreement’ by advancing into Syrian territory.

“We strongly condemn Israel's violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement by entering the Israel-Syria zone and its continuing advance into Syrian territory,” the ministry said in a statement.

A Dangerous Game

Journalist Gamal Sultan warns that a dangerous game is now unfolding in Syria, with “Israel” and the U.S. on one side, and Turkiye on the other. 

The aim of “Tel Aviv” and Washington is to exploit the new situation, capitalizing on the Syrian opposition forces’ focus on rebuilding and purging the state, to implement a plan for Syria's division and the establishment of a Kurdish state loyal to “Israel” in the north and east.

However, Turkiye sees this as a red line and has signaled that it is prepared to enter the war directly if necessary.

As part of a strategy to secure “Israel’s” safety, the U.S., in collaboration with “Israel,” seeks to limit Turkiye's influence in Syria. 

To this end, it encouraged the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to occupy cities in eastern Syria following the fall of al-Assad's regime, advancing U.S. interests and the David's Corridor plan.

Given the relationship between “Israel” and the SDF, it was unsurprising when Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar defended them, stating in a press conference, "It’s a commitment of the international community towards those who fought bravely against ISIS, [...] It’s also a commitment for the future of Syria, because the Kurds are a stabilizing force in this country," exposing the group's role as an ally of “Israel”.

The Jerusalem Post reported on December 9, 2024, confirming that "representatives of the Syrian Kurds have appealed to Israeli officials seeking assistance and protection."

While the newspaper did not provide details on how this request was made or “Israel's” response, the statement from Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, expressing dissatisfaction with the Syrian National Army's ( Assad’s regime) operation in Manbij and calling for it to stop, indicated Israeli involvement in supporting the SDF.

In an opinion piece in The Jerusalem Post on December 11, 2024, Israeli analyst at the Misgav Institute for National Security, Noa Lazimi, asked, "Could Erdogan leverage Syria’s rebel victory to threaten Israel?"

“Turkiye’s influence grows in Syria post-Assad, raising questions about Erdogan’s next move toward Israel,” Lazimi stated.

Turkiye's Presence

Following the Syrian cities' capture by the SDF on December 8 and 9, Israeli Army Radio, quoting Major General Noam Tibon, reported that "Israel is interested in establishing a Kurdish state in Syria."

The SDF, alongside the U.S. military, controls a third of Syria, including 80% of its oil fields and many of its water resources.

Turkish journalist Muhammet Erdogan asserts that “Israel's” goal with David's Corridor is to create the "Promised Land" for the Israelites. 

To achieve this, the occupation state uses armed organizations (such as the PKK and the SDF) to divide both Syria and Turkiye.

He emphasized that Turkiye has blocked the northern Syrian corridor that would have allowed Israel to link up with the PKK, which is supported by “Tel Aviv,” and access the Mediterranean Sea.

“The Israeli occupier began implementing the second plan, which is activating the "David's Corridor" with the support of the American forces present in Syria,” he wrote on X.

“David's Passage, which is considered the second alternative plan for the Israeli occupier, must be destroyed.”

“David's Pass is the passage through which the Israeli occupier supplies weapons to the PKK organization in northern Syria and is considered a defensive point to ensure the safety of the occupied territories so that they can reach the myths of the so-called "Promised Land", ” Erodgan stated.

When the SDF captured Deir ez-Zor and al-Bukamal, Turkish TV channel A Haber reported on December 8, 2024, citing Turkish military analysts, that the only way to close the "David's Corridor" and keep Syria unified after al-Assad's downfall is to liberate Deir ez-Zor and al-Bukamal from the PKK-affiliated Kurdish group hostile to Turkiye.

On December 9, 2024, Turkish intelligence carried out a targeted operation in northeastern Syria, hitting the SDF and destroying 12 trucks loaded with missiles and heavy weaponry, along with two tanks and ammunition depots in the city of Qamishli, in al-Hasakah province.

Anadolu Agency reported, citing security sources, that the weapons destroyed in the operation had been seized by the SDF from remnants of the former Syrian regime's forces in the region.

Early on, before al-Assad’s downfall, Western and Israeli think tanks and newspapers pointed out that Turkiye and Erdogan were the primary beneficiaries of the unfolding events in Syria, with opposition victories set to dramatically reshape the region’s map.

On November 30, 2024, The Wall Street Journal highlighted that Erdogan was the ultimate winner in the new Middle East, one that Netanyahu had envisioned.

The WSJ quoted Asli Aydintasbas, a Turkish affairs expert at the Brookings Institution, saying: “Russia is weakened, Iran is weakened, Hezbollah is beaten—and all this has created an enormous opportunity for Turkiye, which it was quick to grab.”

Aydintasbas added that the fall of Syrian cities into the hands of the opposition also grants Ankara a dominant role in Syria's future, a development that “Israel” does not welcome.

Meanwhile, Israeli economic magazine Globes acknowledged on December 8, 2024, that "The final collapse this morning of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria puts a seal on a significant change in the balance of influence in the Middle East. Iran has been substantially weakened, while its place has been taken by Turkiye."