Syria (region) Gouraud, in breach of the conditions of the mandate, subdivided the French Mandate of Syria into six states. They were the states of Damascus (1920), Aleppo (1920), Alawite State (1920), Jabal Druze (1921), the autonomous Sanjak of Alexandretta (1921) (modern-day Hatay in Turkey), and Greater Lebanon (1920) which later became the modern country of Lebanon. The region has sites that are significant to Abrahamic religions: Syria (region) The region of Syria (, Hieroglyphic Luwian: "Sura/i"; ; in modern literature called "Greater Syria", "Syria-Palestine", or the Levant) is an area located east of the Mediterranean sea. Throughout history, the region has
Israel–Turkey relations Syrian Foreign Ministry said that Turkey was serving as a "channel of communication" between Syria and Israel. On a three-day visit to Ankara in November 2007, Israeli President Shimon Peres met with Turkish President Abdullah Gül, and addressed the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Gül promised to help free three abducted Israeli soldiers: Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. The Turkish government's condemnation of the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict strained relations between the two countries. In December 1987, Turkey had already declared support for the Palestinians' right to self-determination. In 2004, Turkey had denounced Israeli assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.