Turkey Invites Nasrallah, Who Fears IDF will Kill Him En Route
by Maayana Miskin
Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has reportedly invited senior Hizbullah terrorist Hassan Nasrallah to Ankara. However, Nasrallah fears the IDF will assassinate him if he emerges from the hiding places in Lebanon he hs been in since the Second Lebanon War. Iran may therefore provide security for Nasrallah, Kuwaiti paper Al-Siyasa reported Thursday.
Not only is Erdogan to meet Nasrallah, but he is apparently to do so in accordance with advice from Hamas's leader, Khaled Mashaal. Mashaal recently told Erdogan that a meeting with Nasrallah would increase his popularity in the Arab street, Al-Siyasa claimed.
Nasrallah is reported to be pleased with the invitation. However, while he hopes to respond to Erdogan's invitation in the affirmative, the Hizbullah chief apparently fears that a trip to Ankara could give Israel an opportunity to assassinate him.
In order to safely visit Turkey, Nasrallah will receive aid from Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Both Iran and Hizbullah will ask Turkey to allow armed Revolutionary Guard soldiers onto Turkish territory in order to provide security.
Turkey has grown increasingly hostile to Israel under Erdogan's rule. Erdogan harshly criticized Israel following the early 2009 Cast Lead counter-terror offensive, and soon afterward canceled joint Turkish-Israeli military exercises while conducting joint exercises with Syria. A series on Turkish television depicted Israeli soldiers kidnapping babies and murdering innocent Arab children in cold blood.
In March 2010, Erdogan told Arab media that sites such as the Temple Mount and the Tomb of the Patriarchs had never been Jewish, and said PA Arab demands were "top priority" for his government.
In May, Turkey backed the Gaza-bound flotilla that included the Mavi Marmara, despite the IHH's known ties to Islamic terrorism. The resulting incident last week, in which Israeli soldiers clashed with members of the IHH aboard the Mavi Marmara, raised concerns over Turkey's increasing hostility to Israel and friendship with Gaza and Iran. The invitation to Nasrallah would be yet another Turkish step away from Israel and toward Iran. (IsraelNationalNews.com)
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Lebanese Threaten Mass March on Israeli Border
by Hillel Fendel
The anti-Israel flotilla has turned the tide of world opinion against Israel, Fatah leaders in Lebanon say, and the time is ripe for a mass civilian charge against Israel's border.
Mounir Al-Makdah, a leading Fatah leader in Lebanon, says plans are being made for a mass charge against Israel's northern border. "What can Israel do," he asks, "kill the entire Palestinian nation ?"
"And even if they kill all those who take part in the march, the number of remaining Palestinians will still be more than all the Jews in the world."
Al-Makdah told the Lebanese newspaper Al-Sapir that the plans for the march are being made via letters to thousands of "Palestinians" living around the world inviting them to take part. "It could be that they will just break through the border, with their children and their elderly. What will Israel be able to do?"
"A wind of change has begun to blow," he said, "and Israel has begun to be a yoke not only for the Palestinian nation, but for the whole world."
"The freedom flotilla brings a message of the beginning of the end of Israel," Al-Makdah said.
He made similar remarks to a French news agency earlier this week, saying that such marches should take place from all areas that border on Israel - Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and Judea/Samaria. He said he hopes the Lebanese government, of which Hizbullah is a part, will soon grant a permit for the mass march. (IsraelNationalNews.com)
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Iran Threatens Israel as New Sanctions Close In
JERUSALEM, Israel - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised his Turkish counterparts on Tuesday that "we will breach the Gaza blockade."
Ahmadinejad traveled to Turkey to attend the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, hosted by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"Everyone should know that the relations between the two countries are friendly, brotherly, and deep-rooted today and that the two countries will stand side by side till the end of the line," Ahmadinejad said.
"The future of the two countries is bright and their victory campaign against the oppressors is near, after which we will all attend the celebrations for our victory," he said.
Earlier, Ahmadinejad told a French television station that the confrontation that took place on the Turkish flotilla's flagship "shows that it has no room in the region and no one is ready to live alongside it."
" will change many issues in the world and mark the final countdown for Israel's existence," Ahmadinejad said.
Meanwhile, hours before the U.N. Security Council's scheduled vote Wednesday morning on a new set of sanctions against the Iranian nuclear program, U.S., Russian and French diplomats said Iran's proposed swap of eniched uranium for reactor fuel would leave enough uranium to enrich for the production of nuclear weapons.
The response effectively stalled further negotiations on the exchange, the diplomats told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters on Tuesday that Iran will be facing the toughest sanctions to date.
"I think it's fair to say these are the most significant sanctions that Iran has ever faced," Clinton told the press in Quito, Ecuador.
"The amount of unity that has been engendered by the international community is very significant," she said
Nine of the council's 15 members must vote in favor of the measure for it to pass.
The five permanent members - China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States - are expected to support the resolution, while Turkey, Lebanon and Brazil are expected to reject it.
The other non-permanent members are Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovna, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, and Uganda.
In London, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said if the resolution passes, it will pave the way for the U.S. and its allies to move forward with additional measures.
"The strategy here is a combination of diplomacy and pressure to persuade the Iranians that they are headed in the wrong direction in terms of their own security - that they will undermine their security by pursuit of nuclear weapons, not enhance it," Gates said.
The new resolution more than doubles the number of companies and organizations that will be affected by the sanctions.
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US, France, UK practice aerial strikes in time with feeble sanctions against Iran
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 10, 2010, 12:33 PM (GMT+02:00)
French nuclear-tipped Rafale takes off from USS Truman
The low deterrent effect of the sanctions against Iran adopted by the UN Security Council Wednesday, June 9 were manifest from the moment they attained Russian and Chinese endorsement. But its passage in New York found US and French bombers in the middle of a unique exercise simulating a marine force attack on ground targets with close air support.
US and French bombers took off from each other's aircraft carriers, the USS Harry S. Truman and the Charles de Gaulle, while the British planes flew in from their bases in England. Together, they practiced their strike capabilities in a real war. The Canjuers training facility near Toulon stood in for an Iranian target.
Rear Admiral Henri Bobin, commander of the French Fleet Air Arm, said the Charles de Gaulle is seen as a potential deterrent to Iran.
Thursday June 10, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and French Defense Minister Hervé Morin were scheduled to visit the French carrier just after it had spent 15 months in dry dock having its nuclear propulsion system refitted and other upgrades performed. French officers say the Charles de Gaulle' is now "more compatible" with US carriers the adaptation of its steam catapult launch and other systems for take-off and landing.
And indeed, debkafile's military sources report, French Navy F3 Rafale fighters capable of carrying nuclear-tipped ASMP/A missiles flew in from the French carrier and performed touch-and-go landings on the vast deck of the Truman, while American F/A 18/FSuper Hornets performed the same exercises on the French carrier.
In another part of the exercise, American crews for the first time flew French Super Etendard fighters, taking off and landing on the Charles de Gaulle, while French pilots landed American Super Hornets on the decks of the Truman before taking off again.
They also flew "intercepts" against each to test their systems and diversify their pilots' skills.
The simulated landing of a French Rafale F3 landing minus one engine on the Truman deck Friday, June 4, was a dramatic moment: the US carrier's workshops handled the replacement of the "damaged" engine with a new one - the first time that American mechanics had performed a job this complicated on a foreign aircraft, using tools sent over from the Charles de Gaulle.
US Rear Admiral Patrick Driscoll, commander of the American strike force, said the Rafale engine refit was a proof of concept intended to test the technical details of moving the French strike fighter around and below deck "in the precise choreography of carrier operations." This was in keeping with the exercise's catchword: "Interoperability."
The Rafele F3 with its nuclear-tipped ASMP/A is due to be declared operational by the first of July.
As part of the refitting of the US and French carriers for greater compatibility, debkafile's sources report three French E2C Hawkeye spy planes on the Charles de Gaulle were upgraded to the level of the radar aircraft of the same model carried by the Truman, including the replacement of their four-bladed propellers with a more reliable eight-blade version.
Our sources report that from its joint exercise with the French Fleet and the British air force, the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group was due to leave French waters and head for the Arabian Sea opposite Pakistan and Iran via the Suez Canal. It will be stationed therefore for the next six months. Three of the group's destroyers will peel off on route for anti-piracy patrol off the Somali coast.
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Israel, US hold joint strike sim
By YAAKOV KATZ
06/11/2010 02:29
IAF says it has increased overseas drills by 40 percent.
Israel and the United States simulated war this week in a massive aerial drill that included dozens of F-16 fighter jets from both countries.
The exercise, known as Juniper Stallion, came as Turkey was holding its own aerial maneuvers with the US, which Israel was not a part of. The IAF holds about 10 joint exercises with the US Air Force annually, half of them in Israel.
While Turkey no longer invites Israel to participate in exercises, the IAF was kicked out of a similar drill last October two days before it was scheduled to begin. But, Israeli jets still fly periodically out of the country for specific training missions, according to Capt. R., the IAF pilot who coordinates joint exercises with foreign militaries in Israel and overseas.
The Jerusalem Post recently reported that the IAF was looking for more training grounds in Europe.
The IAF, Capt. R. said, has significantly increased its participation in maneuvers overseas in recent years by close to 40 percent. Last week, a joint exercise with the Greek Air Force was cut short following the Navy's raid on an international aid flotilla that ended with nine dead passengers. Capt. R. downplayed the impact a ban on Israeli participation in Turkish drills would have on the IAF.
"There are other places overseas where we can train," he said. "These exercises strengthen the cooperation between the IAF and the foreign air force we are training with. As a result we better understand them and we can learn from one another in the end improving our operational capability."
Maj. O., deputy commander of F-16 Desert Defenders Squadron based at the Nevatim Air Force Base in the Negev, said that his pilots had a lot to learn from their American counterparts who arrived with 16 F-16 fighter jets from Europe.
The drill, he said, simulated a war in which the Israeli and American fighter jets were fighting against an unnamed enemy state.
"Working with so many planes is something that we do not get to do so often," Maj. O. explained
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IAF to pick new fighter by end of July
By YAAKOV KATZ
06/09/2010 04:52
Israel will decide whether to buy next version of Joint Strike Fighter.
The defense establishment will hold a series of high-level consultations over the next month with the aim of determining, by the end of July, whether it will buy the fifth-generation stealth Joint Strike Fighter.
The first meeting will be held in the coming weeks and be led by IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.- Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi as well as OC Israel Air Force Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan. The second meeting, scheduled for the end of this month, will be led by Defense Ministry director-general Udi Shani. The final meeting, scheduled for July, will be headed by Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Despite a recent round of JSF-related talks between Israeli and American officials, the parties have yet to reach an agreement regarding the sale of the plane to Israel.
The F-35 will be one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world and, according to the IAF, would significantly boost Israel's deterrence in the region.
Israel is also seeking to receive a high level of "offset" on the aircraft. This would mean that Israeli defense industries would receive a large percentage of the business so that money Israel spends on the acquisition is put back into the country's economy. One example of offset was the contract Israel Aerospace Industries won to produce wing boxes for F-16s made by the Bethesda, Maryland, based Lockheed Martin, which is also the primary contractor for the F-35.
In March, Ashton Carter, the Pentagon's top acquisition official, met with international partners to discuss a 13-month development delay in the JSF program. Israel expects that the program might face even more delays and that if it decides to buy the plane it will not arrive until 2016.
The plane's high price is also of great concern. According to estimates within the Defense Ministry, each plane will cost $94 million but with additions that Israel will need to make to it, the price will skyrocket to between $140m. and $150m.
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It's Official: There was No Humanitarian Aid on Mavi Marmara
by Gil Ronen
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed Israel's representatives the world over that there were never any humanitarian supplies or equipment aboard the Mavi Marmara, where Israeli commandos were ambushed by armed mercenaries posing as peace activists. The commandos opened fire and killed nine of the attackers after three soldiers had been brutalized and temporarily captured.
Of the seven flotilla ships that were intercepted by Israel on May 31 and afterward, only four were freight ships, the MFA reported to its embassies and consulates: The Challenger 1 (a small yacht), the Sfendonh (a small passenger boat) and the Mavi Marmara (a passenger ship) did not carry any humanitarian aid, and had only the passengers' personal belongings.
The four freight ships are the Gaza, the Sofia, the Defeny and the Rachel Corrie. As of June 7, Israel had only offloaded equipment from the Defeny. The equipment offloaded was loaded onto 26 trucks, and an additional eight trucks are waiting at the Kerem Shalom crossing to enter Gaza.
The equipment includes:
1. 300 wheelchairs
2. 300 new mobility scooters
3. 100 special mobility scooters for the disabled
4. Hundreds of crutches
5. 250 hospital beds
6. 50 sofas
7. Four tons of medicine
8. 20 tons of clothing, carpets, school bags, cloth and shoes
9. Various hospital equipment - closets and cabinets, operating theater equipment, etc.
10. Playground equipment
11. Mattresses
The equipment remaining at Ashdod Port on the three cargo ships which have not been offloaded include some 2000 tons of construction equipment - building materials and tools, and construction waste (rubble, toilets, sinks and cement) for re-use.
The MFA noted that:
The equipment does not constitute humanitarian aid in the accepted sense (basic foodstuffs, new and functional equipment, fresh medicines).
The humanitarian aid on the four cargo ships was scattered in the ships' holds and thrown onto piles and not packed properly for transport. The equipment was not packaged and not properly placed on wooden bases. Because of the improper packing, some of the equipment was crushed by the weight in transit.
The medicines and sensitive equipment (operating theater equipment, new clothing, etc.) are being kept in cool storage at the Defense Ministry base. Some of the medicines had already expired, and some will expire soon. The operating theater equipment, which should be kept sterile, was carelessly wrapped. A large part of the equipment, particularly shoes and clothing, was used and worn. (IsraelNationalNews.com)
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Texas Senator Takes Action to Support Israel
by Hana Levi Julian
U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Tx) has proposed a resolution supporting Israel's right to defend itself and condemning last week's actions by the Turkish-sent six-ship flotilla that wanted to break Israel's blockade on Gaza.
The text is blunt in condemning Hamas for rejecting Israel's right to exist, for its "human rights abuses" against its own citizens in Gaza, and for its opposition to peace efforts in the region. It also condemns Iran for supporting Hamas.
Moreover, the measure urges Turkey - which funded the flotilla and whose Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan is now threatening to personally join the next one - to "recognize the importance of continued strong relations with Israel." The bill also expresses American lawmakers' "profound disappointment with the counterproductive actions of the United Nations regarding this incident."
The U.N. Security Council barely avoided generating a resolution condemning Israel after it stopped the flotilla from proceeding to Gaza with its cargo, some of which contained contraband supplies, such as concrete and other building materials. Such materials are banned due to their use by Hamas in past years for the construction of tunnels and bunkers.
One of the six ships, the Mavi Marmara, also bore dozens of Turkish and other armed militants, including paid mercenaries and several operatives from the Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda terrorist organizations.
When Israel Naval commandos boarded the vessel to redirect the ship towards the port of Ashdod, they were attacked by the so-called "peace activists" who beat them with metal rods and clubs, and stabbed them with knives. Several snatched the weapons carried by the commandos, armed only with paintball guns and pistols, and then shot them.
The 58-year-old Republican senator's non-binding measure would affirm Israel's "inherent and undeniable right to defend itself against any threat to the safety of its citizens" if approved.
It would also "condemn the violent attack and provocation by extremists aboard the Mavi Marmara, who created a highly destabilizing incident in a region that cannot afford further instability."
Further, Cornyn's measure would "condemn any future such attempts to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza for the purpose of creating or provoking violent confrontation or otherwise undermining the security of Israel." (IsraelNationalNews.com)
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More evidence Gaza is not starving
The international community is sticking to the line that the Gaza Strip is a land of destitution where famine grips nearly every family. Comparisons with World War II concentration camps are popular.
But one of the results of the recent failed "humanitarian aid" flotilla to Gaza is that more and more journalists and researches are looking into the Gaza situation and finding it doesn't really reflect what is being written about it.
We already wrote last month about how National Post correspondent Tom Gross discovered gourmet restaurants and Olympic-sized swimming pools in Gaza. Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi of the Institute for Contemporary Affairs has compiled a comprehensive report on the situation in Gaza including several quotes from the mainstream and Arab press that acknowledge Gaza is not starving, and is no worse off than anywhere else in the Middle East.
In a June 3 report, Janine Zacharia of the Washington Post wrote, "If you walk down Gaza City's main thoroughfare - Salah al-Din Street - grocery stores are stocked wall-too-wall with everything from fresh Israeli yogurts and hummus to Cocoa Puffs smuggled in from Egypt. Pharmacies look as well-supplied as a typical Rite Aid in the United States."
Earlier in the year, the Palestinian Bethlehem-based news agency Ma'an reported that "Gaza markets are saturated with goods."
To drive home the point, Halevi included a list provided by Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territoris of what Israel sent into Gaza in 2009 (in addition to what was smuggled in or brought in by private business concerns):
Health: 4,883 tons of medical equipment and medicines entered Gaza that year in coordination with the Palestinian Authority and international agencies;
Electricity: Israel continued to supply electricity to Gaza from its power plant in Ashkelon. In addition, 41 truckloads of equipment were transferred for the maintenance of the electrical system in Gaza. Between April and October 2009, Siemens carried out maintenance work on the power system in Gaza, to which more than 100 million liters of diesel fuel were delivered for its operation.
Communications: 45 truckloads of communication equipment were sent to Gaza at the request of the Palestinian Authority.
Water and sewage: 95 truckloads of equipment for water and sewage systems, as well as 3,720 tons of chloride for water purification, were transferred during 2009.
The private sector: 77 percent of the contents of trucks sent into Gaza in 2009 were for the private sector. 257 Palestinian businessmen exited Gaza to Israel, the West Bank, and abroad. 10,871 head of cattle were transferred to Gaza, mainly for the Ramadan and Eid al-Adha holidays. In preparation for winter, 3,607 tons of glass for windows was transferred to Gaza.
Money: Over NIS 1.1 billion (approximately $300 million) was transferred to Gaza in 2009 to fund salaries and the activities of international organizations. In addition, NIS 40 million (approximately $10 million) in worn banknotes were replaced.
Humanitarian aid: 141,390 tons of humanitarian aid were transferred by the international community through Israel, including 115,043 tons of food and 2,990 tons of medicines and medical equipment.
UNRWA: 3,282,000 liters of fuel and diesel were transferred for use by UNRWA. In addition, special equipment for summer camps, including swimming pools, ice cream machines, musical instruments, and sports equipment were transferred to UNRWA.
Agricultural export: The export of flowers and strawberries was approved as part of a joint project with the government of the Netherlands. Since the beginning of the project, more than 7 million flowers and 54 tons of strawberries were exported.
Israel does indeed maintain a firm blockade of the Gaza Strip in order to deny its Hamas rulers goods that could be used in the manufacture of weapons of war. But Israel is not restricting the entry of other goods, and is in fact facilitating the transfer of massive amounts of humanitarian aid every day - goods that the residents of Gaza are receiving for free, that is if Hamas would stop stealing them.
Halevi also responded to claims that even if Israel's blockade is not causing starvation, it has essentially created a well-stocked prison for 1.5 million Palestinians. Halevi noted that the border crossings of Gaza are not nor have they ever been closed to either the exit or entry of local Palestinians. Of course, since foreign nations sit on the other side of those crossings, coordination with their authorities is required, but that is not different than the citizen of any other nation requiring a visa to visit a neighboring state.
Over the past five years, Israel and Egypt have approved 98 percent of permit requests to cross the Gaza border. In 2009, 10,544 Palestinians left Gaza for medical treatment in Israel, 147 students went abroad for studies, 374 Christians left Gaza to celebrate Christmas in Israel and Bethlehem, and Gaza-based members of the Palestinian soccer team regularly exited the coastal strip to participate in matches with foreign teams. The very few rejections are the only cases that receive media coverage, however.
Read Halevi's full report here: http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DBID=1&TMID=111&LNGID=1&FID=377&PID=0&IID=4123
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Experts Concerned Over Turkey-Israel Rift
Video
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2010/June/Experts-Concerned-Over-Turkey-Israel-Rift/
ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Many analysts believe the major player in last week's confrontation between Israel and the "freedom flotilla" is Turkey.
One Middle East expert called it "Turkey's debut on the world stage with Iran."
Turkey supported the "freedom flotilla." The main ship - the Mavi Marmara - sailed under the Turkish flag and many on board who attacked Israeli soldiers were Turkish citizens. Later, Turkey severely condemned Israel in the U.N. Security Council. Many analysts see these events as signs that Turkey's position in the Middle East has shifted.
Aaron Klein, a Middle East Expert and author of The Manchurian President, appeared on the June 9 broadcast of the CBN Newschannel's Midday program to share more about Turkey's new role in the Middle East. Click play to watch the interview.
The Bosporous Straights in Istanbul straddle east and west. Europe is on one side and Asia is on the other. It represents the two competing world views Turkey faces -- Islam or a secular society.
Many say the current Turkish government of Prime Minister Erdogan has chosen Islam as its world view.
"A new party came to power in 2002, which has Islamic roots, which has some kind of Islamic identity and as a result of the domestic preferences they want to become closer to the Muslim bloc," said Prof. Efraim Inbar of BESA Center for Strategic Strategic Studies.
"It's a terrible thing to watch when you think of Turkey as a reliable NATO ally for decades," said Elliot Abrams, former deputy national security adviser for the Bush administration.
Abrams said the world is watching a new Turkey emerge.
"Turkey is realigning and you know we hear a lot in the press about 'Gee, even Turkey, Israel's closest Muslim ally', that's the old Turkey," he said. "The new Turkey is carving out a role for itself with Iran and Syria and it says this in so many words."
He added that the weak posture of the Obama administration in the Middle East is influencing events.
"It's leaving a kind of vacuum because the Arabs as well as Israel are wondering, 'Where's their old ally, the U.S.,'" Abrams said. "The Turks are moving in. The Iranians are moving in. And the Arabs that I talk to are wondering is the U.S. going to abandon its commanding position in the Middle East and let secondary powers like that come to the fore."
The shift by Turkey could leave Israel without one its stronger allies in the Middle East -- NATO with more of an enemy than a friend in its ranks and leave the Middle East with a more volatile and uncertain future.
