Syria’s leadership isn’t the only aspect of the country to be changing as a result of this month’s toppling of longtime dictator, Bashar al-Assad. The blurring of its borders is also underway — from Israel to the southwest and Turkey to the north.

While Turkey backs the HTS regime, Israel is destroying its military capacity and claiming territory – fuelling fears of fragmentation.

Ankara is concerned that Israel may seek to solidify its territorial gains in Syria, leveraging regional instability and pro-Israel US policies.

After the regime change in Damascus, while Israel was invading Syria and destroying its defense infrastructure, Blinken visited Turkey and Turkish intelligence chief Kalın went to Damascus to meet with HTS leader al-Jolani.

If Turkey decides to arm the rebel forces, it is unclear how Israel will respond and whether it will be able to thwart the transfer of American-backed weapons.