Israel works to counter Turkey's growing influence in Syria by lobbying the United States to keep it weak and decentralised, including by letting Russia keep its military bases in the country, Reuters reported on Feb.

Israel is lobbying the United States to keep Syria weak and decentralised, including by letting Russia keep its military bases there to counter Turkey's growing influence in the country, four sources familiar with the efforts said.

Jerusalem said to have told Washington that Damascus's new Islamist rulers, backed by Turkey, pose a threat to Israel's borders

Israel has publicly declared its mistrust of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist faction that led the campaign that toppled Assad.

Israel is lobbying the US to maintain Syria's weakness and Russian military bases in response to Turkey's growing influence in the region. This move is aimed at preventing a security threat to Israel from Islamist forces backed by Ankara,