Regional powers' mixed reactions to imminent Syria strike (3)

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TURKEY IS ON HIGH ALERT FOR SYRIAN REPRISAL

Turkey, once an ally of Assad but now a leading voice urging his ouster, has reportedly provided Syrian rebel leaders with sanctuary. If Ankara joins a Western military strike in Syria, it should brace for possible reprisal attacks from Syria and Iran, analysts said.

"The Syrian regime may resort to attacks against Turkey to punish its involvement in the likely upcoming intervention by the coalition of Western powers," said Hasan Kanbolat, director of the Ankara-based think tank, the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies.

Ankara is already on high alert for the possible use of chemical weapons against Turkey, with its Disaster and Emergency Management Agency stepping up measures in provinces along the Syrian border.

Turkey's involvement may drag the country deeper into the Syrian conflict, said Bulent Kenes, editor-in-chief of Turkish daily Today's Zaman.

Besides, Turkey may be susceptible to sectarian divisions, which have taken their toll on such Middle East countries as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

"Turkey's internal fractures and tensions may also be negatively affected by the Syrian turmoil," said Ihsan Yilmaz, professor of political science at Istanbul-based Fatih University.

Another blowback for Turkey would be increasing terror threats from the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), which is affiliated with Syria's Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). The PYD is trying to establish an autonomous Kurdish region in northern Syria, aided by PKK militants from Turkey, Iran and Iraq.

According to Kanbolat, the Syrian government may provide significant support to the PKK and its Syrian branch to attack Turkey.

"This may also derail the settlement process that Ankara launched at the end of last year to settle the country's Kurdish problem," he noted.

ISRAEL IS ON DEFENSE, NOT OFFENCE

Israel will maintain its non-interference policy if the United States decides to strike Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons, local analysts said.

The chances of Israel taking part in a U.S. attack on Syria "are slim to none," as a disassociation policy is in the interest of both Israel and the United States, Jonathan Spyer, of the Interdisciplinary-Center in Herzliya of Israel, told Xinhua.

On Wednesday, Israel approved a limited draft of reservists amid growing tensions surrounding a possible U.S. strike on Syria following an alleged chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government last week.

However, different from last draft during the operation of Pillars of Defense last November, the reservists drafted this time are from defensive units, which are expected to fend off threats rather than launch a ground offensive.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "we are not part of the civil war in Syria, but if we identify any attempt whatsoever to harm us, we will respond and we will respond with strength."

Netanyahu maintained that Israel's only interest in the Syrian crisis is preventing advanced missiles from being delivered to the Lebanese military party Hezbollah.

"Israel's concern is with the outcome (of a U.S. attack). If the (Syrian) regime acts in a limited way, everyone will forget and go on. But if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad retaliates heavily against Israel, this will be another story," Maoz said.

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