Israel and Turkey have set up a round-the-clock direct line to avoid any undesired military engagements and “misunderstandings” in Syria, unnamed sources from Turkey’s defence ministry have briefed Middle East Eye (MEE).

The hotline was launched after the parties held talks in April in Baku. They were set to hold a fifth round of talks in the past week.

Israel and Syria are also holding talks in Baku, according to the unnamed people.

Israel’s “lines” slice up Syria

Israel is okay with Turkey’s tank and infantry deployments in Syria, while it would also countenance the deployment of air defence and radar systems north of a so-called Palmyra line, according to one of MEE's sources.

In early April, Turkey attempted to take over a military airport in Syria, namely T4, near Palmyra. Israel bombed it into the ground before Turkey could do so. 

Israel has also set a so-called Damascus line for the administration in Damascus that took power in December. It is not letting the Hayat Tahrir Sham (HTS), the jihadist militia behind the formation of the new regime, which is backed by Turkey, go south of the Syrian capital.

Map: Ruins of ancient Palmyra city and Damascus.

One of Israel's aims is to maintain its ability to fly over Syria without being detected by Turkish radar systems in the event that it decides to bomb Iran in the coming months, according to MEE.

Tensions on display before the camera, talks take place behind the curtain

On April 4, a few days after the T4 affair, Fidan said: “We don't want to see any confrontation with Israel in Syria.”

On April 5, Netanyahu’s office said that Israel-Turkey relations would be on the White House agenda for discussions with Donald Trump.

On April 7, Netanyahu said during a press meeting in the Oval Office: “We discussed how we can avoid this conflict [with Turkey] in a variety of ways, and I think we can’t have a better interlocutor than the president of the United States for this purpose.”

On April 9, Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan said that Turkey was holding technical talks with Israel concerning the de-escalation of any conflict in Syria.