By Murat Yıldız
On August 21, 2026, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli called on Türkiye to issue an "Ankara Declaration" setting out its regional security principles and warned Israel to stop "testing Türkiye's patience," three days after the Israeli strike on Syria's Abu al-Duhur military airbase.
The declaration is one part of a seven-point proposal published by Bahçeli that ranges from an expanded Islamic defense mechanism to a United Nations-backed regional conference, ceasefire monitoring, international mediation and economic and diplomatic pressure on Israel. The package represents the MHP leader's position and has not been adopted as Turkish government policy.
Bahçeli Calls for an Ankara Declaration
Bahçeli said Türkiye should publish an Ankara Declaration defining the principles guiding its approach to regional security, peace and stability.
He added that Ankara should state in the same declaration that it would not remain passive in the event of what he described as a hostile Israeli attack against Türkiye and would not accept responsibility for the consequences of such an attack.
The proposal is distinct from the Ankara Declaration brokered by Türkiye between Ethiopia and Somalia in December 2024.
Bahçeli's warning to Israel was unusually direct. He called on the Israeli government to stop provoking Türkiye, testing its patience, taking steps that could amount to direct or indirect interference in Turkish national security interests and encouraging anti-Türkiye actors.
"Türkiye is not a country seeking conflict," Bahçeli said. He added that it would not ignore threats directed against it, tolerate violations of its sovereignty or leave its national security dependent on decisions taken by others.
Abu al-Duhur Puts Syria at the Center of the Warning
Bahçeli opened his statement with Israel's August 18 strike on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in the Idlib countryside, describing the attack as a violation of Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He argued that Israeli military activity in Syria was increasingly intersecting with Türkiye's security interests and warned against permanent occupation zones, changes to de facto borders, expansion of buffer areas or the use of Syria's ethnic and sectarian divisions for geopolitical purposes.
For Bahçeli, the Syrian file goes beyond the airbase itself. He said a sovereign Syrian state able to preserve its territorial integrity serves Türkiye's security interests and accused Israel of treating Ankara's growing regional role as a threat.
Bosphorus News has separately followed the Israel-Türkiye dispute surrounding the Abu al-Duhur strike and alleged Turkish military plans at the base.
Bahçeli also placed the dispute inside a wider map extending from Gaza and Lebanon to Iran, the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus. His argument is that developments in those theaters increasingly touch Türkiye's border security, maritime interests, energy corridors and regional influence.
From the Mecca Agreement to an Islamic Peace Force
The first proposal in Bahçeli's seven-point package builds on the security agreement involving Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan that he referred to as the "Mecca Agreement."
Bahçeli called for its membership to be expanded and connected to his earlier "Jerusalem Pact" proposal, eventually creating what he termed an "Islamic Peace Force" covering countries and areas exposed to Israeli military action.
Bosphorus News previously examined the Türkiye-Pakistan-Saudi defense framework and its published text.
Bahçeli did not set out a command structure, force composition or list of additional participating states.
His second proposal calls for a temporary Middle East Peace Coalition or Council involving the United States, Russia, China and the European Union.
The third would establish a Middle East Security and Peace Conference initiated by Türkiye and held under United Nations auspices. Bahçeli said the conference should seek a road map for a permanent two-state settlement in Palestine and a wider regional security arrangement.
The Ankara Declaration forms the fourth element of the package.
Sanctions, Arms Restrictions and Israel's UN Membership
Bahçeli separately called for an international sanctions process against Israel, including restrictions on arms supplies and economic measures outside humanitarian necessities.
He also proposed suspending Israel's United Nations membership and urged the United States and other major powers to end what he described as unconditional political and military support for the Israeli government.
His statement used the term "neutralization" of Israeli policies, but Bahçeli explicitly defined this as restricting policies he considers unlawful through political, economic, diplomatic and legal means rather than eliminating Israel as a state or targeting its people.
He also argued that the removal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alone would not be sufficient if the political environment capable of producing similar policies remained intact.
Bahçeli appealed to Jewish communities and civil society groups to oppose policies pursued by the Israeli government, while distinguishing those policies from Jewish people collectively.
Permanent Monitoring and Mediation Mechanisms
The fifth proposal calls for a neutral International Ceasefire Monitoring Mission operating under the United Nations.
Bahçeli said such a mission should document ceasefire violations, oversee the security of humanitarian corridors, monitor civilian protection and provide regular public reporting.
His sixth proposal is an International Mediation Contact Group designed to replace ad hoc mediation efforts with a permanent multilateral structure.
The final element is what Bahçeli called a "Graduated Diplomatic Pressure and Incentive Mechanism."
Under that proposal, political and economic pressure would increase when Israel breached ceasefires or international law, with military deterrence forming part of the mechanism. Diplomatic and economic incentives could be introduced if ceasefires held, settlement activity stopped and negotiations resumed.
Bahçeli described the approach as a policy of containing Israeli actions through coordinated pressure rather than relying only on statements or isolated sanctions.
Palestine, Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean
The Palestinian question remains at the center of Bahçeli's proposal. He reiterated support for an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
But the statement extends well beyond Gaza.
Bahçeli explicitly linked Israeli actions in Syria, Lebanon and Iran with developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus, as well as Türkiye's maritime jurisdiction, energy corridors and border security.
He argued that Ankara should no longer view these as disconnected crises and instead pursue a regional security policy combining diplomacy, international law, economic tools, regional partnerships and military deterrence.
The Abu al-Duhur strike supplied the immediate trigger for the intervention. Bahçeli's response, however, is considerably broader: he is asking Türkiye to put its regional red lines into a formal declaration and to promote a seven-part international security mechanism extending from Islamic defense cooperation to the United Nations.
Sources: Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, Bosphorus News review and reporting.