Report: Turkey, Israel reinstate air force coordination mechanism

[RedBeard]

An Israeli Air Force fighter jet releases flares during an acrobatics display at a graduation ceremony on the Hatzerim Air Force base near the southern city of Beersheba in this June 30, 2011 file photo. (Photo: AP)​

22 December 2011 / TODAYSZAMAN.COM,


Turkey and Israel have reactivated a mechanism of coordination between their air forces months after it was severed amid political tensions over a UN panel report on a bloody Israeli raid on an aid flotilla that killed nine Turkish activists, an Israeli news report has said.


The coordination mechanism is designed to prevent misunderstandings and potential clashes between Turkish and Israeli military planes over the Mediterranean Sea, but it was suspended following the UN panel's report on the May 31, 2010 raid on the aid ship Mavi Marmara in September, Jerusalem Post reported on Wednesday.


Turkey ended its aerial cooperation with the Israeli military in 2009, in protest of an Israeli offensive in Gaza that killed some 1,400 Palestinians. Jerusalem Post said despite the breakdown in diplomatic and military ties, the Israeli Air Force continued to maintain an open line of communication with the Turkish Air Forces until September in order to prevent potential misunderstandings when pilots from both countries encounter one another flying over the Mediterranean.


The newspaper quoted an unnamed senior official of the Israeli Air Force as saying that this coordination mechanism was recently reactivated as part of the two countries' efforts to “stabilize and improve ties.” Two weeks ago, the Turkish military attache to Israel attended an Israeli Air Force briefing for foreign military officers at the Ovda Air Force Base on the sidelines of the Israeli joint maneuvers with the Italian Air Force.


The official also said that the Israeli Air Force would also likely invite Turkey to participate in a large-scale international aerial drill that it will be hosting in Israel in 2013. “There is nothing preventing them from participating,” the official said.


Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador and other top diplomats and suspended all military agreements with Israel after the UN panel, led by former Prime Minister of Zealand Geoffrey Palmer, said Israeli forces used excessive force during the Mavi Marmara raid but concluded that Israeli blockade of Gaza was legal.


The Mavi Marmara, part of an international flotilla, was on a mission to deliver humanitarian aid to blockaded Gaza when it was raided by Israeli commandos in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea.


Report: Turkey, Israel reinstate air force coordination mechanism

 

[RedBeard]

Israel nixes multi-million dollar defense contract with Turkey amid continued tensions

Sale of aerial surveillance equipment manufactured by Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems canceled out of fear it would fall into enemy hands, namely Iran.


A defense contract with Turkey worth an estimated $140 million was canceled at the last minute, out of fears that information regarding the aerial surveillance systems to be sold would fall into enemy hands, it was reported on Thursday.

The Defense Ministry announced over the past few days that it intended to stop the sale of the equipment manufactured by Israeli electronic defense firm Elbit Systems to Turkey.

A Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet.


An agreement over the sale of the equipment was signed three years ago, and the deal is worth an estimated $140 million.


"At the present time, there is not an estimate of the amount of the damages that may result from the non-renewal of the export authorizations. Such damages may have a material impact on the company's financial results," Elbit said in a statement in response to the cancelation of the contract.

Elbit said it was discussing possible compensation with the Defense Ministry.

The decision to cancel the sale was made out of security concerns regarding Turkey’s ties with enemy states of Israel, particularly Iran.

Export of any military equipment or defense technology is subject to Defense Ministry approval. The Defense Ministry highlighted that, “We do not allow such advanced technology to fall into other hands, in this way the system can fall into enemy hands.”

As recently as September, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan was quoted as saying that Iran and Turkey were “firm in their stand” against a common enemy – Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. It has been reported since then that Turkish and Iranian cooperation in this matter would be in terms of intelligence or diplomacy.

Asked about the cancelation of the sale, a security official said, “Ties with Turkey are extremely important to the state, but we have a security responsibility over any product that is granted approval for export.”

The Defense Ministry stated in response that it "does not give details of all the considerations and information that form the basis of policy decisions in security exports. The Defense Ministry carries out regular assessments of the situation with all the relevant bodies, and decisions are made on a professional basis and according to defense and state considerations.”

Ties between once-close allies Israel and Turkey have deteriorated in recent years, reaching crisis point last year over Israel's killing of nine Turks aboard a ship trying to breach its naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a leaked speech last year that Ankara's newly appointed intelligence chief was a "friend of Iran" who might betray Israel's secrets.


Israel nixes multi-million dollar defense contract with Turkey amid continued tensions - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News