Tag Archive for Israel Turkey

| June 14, 2012
No comments

Report: Turkey to buy $4b long-range missile system

In response to regional tensions, Turkey is looking to buy new air defense missile system, daily Zaman reports.

By DPA and Haaretz

 

 

Turkey is planning to spend 4 billion dollars on a new long-range air defense missile system, in response to increasing regional tensions, the pro-government daily Zaman reported Wednesday.

 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, June 12, 2012.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of his party at the parliament in Ankara - Photo by AFP

 

According to the report, four systems are under consideration: The US PAC-3 Patriot missile system, Russia’s S400, China’s FD2000 and the SAMP-T missile produced by the French Italian consortium Eurosam. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| June 10, 2012
No comments

Knesset to mark Armenian genocide on eve of publication of Gaza flotilla report

Recognition of Armenian genocide perpetrated by Turkey comes alongside Turkish lawsuit against senior Israeli officials involved in IDF raid on the Gaza-bound ship, the Mavi Marmara.

On the eve of the publication of the State Comptroller’s report regarding the 2009 Gaza flotilla, the Knesset is expected to hold a public discussion about the genocide of the Armenian people, as requested by MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz).

Knesset chairperson Reuven Rivlin decided to permit the debate for Tuesday, following the Turkish decision to try senior Israeli officials in court for their involvement in the IDF raid on the Gaza-bound ship the Mavi Marmara, and the publication of the State Comptroller’s report on the affair on Wednesday. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| May 29, 2012
No comments

Israeli Mountain Climber to Receive Medal of Honor

Nadav Ben-Yehuda, who saved the life of a Turkish climber during his excursion on Mount Everest, will receive Presidential Medal of Honor.

 

Israeli mountain climber Nadav Ben Yehuda, who saved the life of a Turkish climber during an excursion on Mount Everest, will receive the Presidential Medal of Honor at an official ceremony in Jerusalem next month.

Mountain climbing

Mountain climbing - Reuters

Ben Yehuda, who was only 300 meters away from reaching the peak of Everest before he noticed Aydin Irmak lying unconscious on the ground, abandoned his climb and risked his own life in order to save his fellow climber. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags:
| May 28, 2012
No comments

Turkey seeks 18,000 years in prison for Israeli military commanders over flotilla deaths

Days before the second anniversary of the Mavi Marmara raid, indictment cites ‘inciting to kill monstrously, torturing’

 

 

A Turkish court has formally pressed charges against members of Israel’s military for the killing of nine people aboard the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara that tried to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza in 2010. The move comes just days ahead of the second anniversary of the May 31, 2010, raid.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency says the court in Istanbul voted unanimously Monday to approve an indictment against Israel’s former chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, along with former Israeli Navy head Vice Admiral Eliezer Marom, former Israel Air Force intelligence chief Avishai Levy and former Military Intelligence head Amos Yadlin. 

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags:
| May 28, 2012
No comments

MK Shai: Cancel Turkish Tenders Over Indictment

Lawmaker says Israel must not remain indifferent over a Turkish indictment of four top IDF commanders

MK Dr. Nachman Shai (Kadima) on Monday demanded the government not remain indifferent in the face of a Turkish indictment for “murder” naming four senior IDF commanders.

Specifically, Shai called on Minister of Water and Energy Uzi Landau (Yisrael Bateynu) to suspend a Turkish company’s tender for work on an Israeli gas pipeline over the indictment.

“Israel cannot remain indifferent to the extremely provocative Turkish move, which carries serious implications for Israel’s relations,” Shai said.

“Turkey, which is attacking the IDF’s senior personnel, despite our soldiers suffering injury when boarding the Turkish flotilla-ship,” he added. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags:
| May 24, 2012
No comments

‘Israel offered $6M to Marmara raid victims’

Turkish lawyer says Jerusalem has offered $6 million settlement to victims of 2010 raid on Gaza-bound Turkish aid flotilla

 

A Turkish lawyer said on Thursday that Israel had offered to pay $6 million to victims of Israel’s storming of a Gaza-bound Turkish flotilla to settle lawsuits against the Israeli military.

Rain on the Marmara (Acrhves) Photo: AP

Rain on the Marmara (Archives) Photo: AP

However, a senior Israeli official who declined to be named said that Israel, having indicated last year that it was prepared to indemnify victims without accepting blame, had not renewed its offer.

Turkey and Israel fell out badly in 2010 when Israeli commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara to enforce a naval blockade of the Palestinian-run Gaza Strip. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| May 23, 2012
No comments

Israeli gives up on Everest summit to help Turkish climber

Ben Yehuda, 24, was 300 meters from peak; would have been youngest Israeli to complete ascent

 

Mount Everest (photo credit: AP/Binod Joshi)
Mount Everest (photo credit: AP/Binod Joshi)
An Israeli mountaineer abandoned his dream to reach the summit of Mount Everest just 300 meters from the peak in order to save an injured Turkish climber.

Twenty-four-year-old Nadav Ben Yehuda would have become the youngest Israeli to summit the world’s highest mountain, but he aborted his ascent to assist the stranded climber, Israel Radio reported on Tuesday.

Nadav Ben Yehuda (via Facebook)Nadav Ben Yehuda (via Facebook)

The two climbers were then evacuated by helicopter to Kathmandu. Ben Yehuda was said to be suffering from frostbite in the course of the rescue, and there were fears that he might lose one or more of his fingers. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags:
| May 23, 2012
No comments

Turkey indicts Israeli commanders over ship raid

Turkey prosecutor prepares indictment to seek life sentences for 4 former Israeli commanders, including Ashkenazi, over flotilla.

 

ANKARA – A Turkish prosecutor has prepared an indictment seeking life sentences for four former Israeli military commanders over their alleged involvement in the 2010 killing of nine Turks on a Gaza-bound aid ship, Turkish newspaper Sabah reported on Wednesday.

Israeli commandos raid Mavi Marmara - Photo: REUTERS

Israeli commandos raid Mavi Marmara – Photo: REUTERS

Relations between the regional powers deteriorated sharply after Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara aid vessel in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and killed nine Turks in clashes with activists on board the ship.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| May 20, 2012
No comments

Turkey investigates bird for being Israeli spy

Alleged spy bird damned for having a big nostril.

 

An increasing paranoia of Israeli zoological militancy conspiracy theories has turned a small bird with a larger than normal nostril and Israeli foot band into the latest suspected Mossad spy.

“Tell me. If it’s a spy would they put that it’s from Israel? Are they that stupid?” Ohad Hatzofe, an avian ecologist for Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority (NPA), told The Media Line.

Swifts bird at Western Wall - Photo: Marc Israel Sellem

Swifts bird at Western Wall - Photo: Marc Israel Sellem

A farmer in Gaziantep province in southeastern Turkey last week turned the dead Merops Apiaster, commonly known as the European Bee-Eater, to police after he noticed its band read “Tel Aviv University, Israel,” with serial number C43917. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| May 20, 2012
No comments

Israel fixes, returns four aerial drones to Turkey in possible sign of warming ties

 

Failure to repair the Herons has been a bone of contention with Ankara for years

 

In another possible sign of a thaw in the icy relations between Israel and Turkey, Israel has fixed and returned to Turkey four of the five unmanned aerial Heron drones which were sent to Israel for repairs several years ago.

Ankara purchased the drones several years ago, signing a contract with the Israeli government which Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Jerusalem of breaking when the Herons were not promptly fixed and returned to Turkey. “Are they even ethical?” Erdogan asked of Israel last September. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags:
| May 17, 2012
No comments

Turkey accuses Israel of violating north Cyprus airspace

Turkish army claims Israeli aircraft entered Turkish-controlled area five times on Monday; fighter jets launched in response

 

Turkey accused Israel on Thursday of violating the airspace of Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus in a controversial oil and gas exploration area.

The Israeli aircraft violated the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’s airspace five times in Monday’s incident which saw Turkish fighter jets chase out the intruder, the army command said in a statement.

It gave no other details about the incident nor the type of Israeli plane involved in the alleged incursion over the breakaway statelet, which is recognized only by Ankara.
ציר עוקף טורקיה. נתניהו ונשיא קפריסין היוונית כריסטופיאס (צילום: EPA)
PM Netanyahu and Cyprus president Dimitris Christofias (Photo: EPA)

 

Israel and the internationally-recognized Republic of Cyprus have both discovered huge offshore natural gas deposits beneath the Mediterranean Sea between them, and have tentatively discussed cooperation on delivering gas to European and Asian markets. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| May 15, 2012
3 comments

Turkey suspects bird of being Israeli spy

Ankara investigating possibility that bee-eater was ‘implanted with Mossad surveillance device’; Israeli wildlife officials say accusation ridiculous

 

Turkish authorities believe that they have found a bird used for espionage purposes by Israel, the country’s media reported.

Suspicious chirping? Merops Apiaster Photo: Shutterstock

Suspicious chirping? Merops Apiaster - Photo: Shutterstock

According to a Tuesday report in Yedioth Ahronoth, an investigation to that effect was launched in Ankara several days ago, after a farmer discovered a dead Merops Apiaster, commonly known as the European Bee-Eater, in his field. The bird had a ring reading “Israel” on one of its legs.

Bird-banding is a common practice in ornithology, meant to help scientists track bird migration routes. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| May 14, 2012
No comments

NATO Ousts Israel from Upcoming Chicago Summit

Israel will not be invited to the upcoming NATO summit that is scheduled to take place May 20-21 in Chicago, the alliance’s top official said Friday.

The official denied that Turkey had blocked Israel’s participation and claimed that NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the reason is because Israel does not participate in NATO’s military missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo, the Associated Press reported.

NATO Summit

NATO Summit - Reuters

According to reports, however, Turkey has blocked Israel’s participation in the summit and has maintained that NATO–Israel relations cannot be restored until Turkey-Israel relations are normalized.

Relations between the two countries became increasingly hostile following the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident in 2010, when Israeli commandos bordered the vessel in an attempt to prevent IHH terror activists from breaching Israel’s borders and endangering the country’s national security. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| April 1, 2012
No comments

Israel, Greece conduct joint naval drill amid ongoing tension with Turkey

U.S. Sixth Fleet also participating in the exercise, which includes simulation of attack on offshore natural gas platforms.

Israel, the United States and Greece are in the midst of a naval exercise in the Mediterranean Sea, in what Greek media outlets are saying is a message to Turkey following frayed ties with both Israel and Greece.

IAF exercise - Greek air force - 1.4.12 - Photo by: Greek air force

IAF exercise - Greek air force - 1.4.12 - Photo by: Greek air force

The exercise, called “Noble Dina,” involves simulations of combat against submarines, air battles and protection of offshore natural gas platforms. The U.S. Sixth Fleet is also participating in the exercise, which the Greek media, which first reported on it, has described as being meant to send a message to Turkey. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 28, 2012
No comments

Turkish shampoo ad featuring Hitler taken down following public protest

13-second TV spot for Biomen shampoo shows black-and-white footage of the Nazi leader at a political rally; ad agency head: commercial meant to mock, not praise Hitler.

A Turkish shampoo commercial featuring footage showing Adolf Hitler giving a speech was taken off the air on Wednesday, following protests by the local Jewish community.

The 13-second television spot for Biomen shampoo shows black-and-white archival footage of the Nazi leader at a political rally. Dubbed in Turkish, he shouts that men should not use women’s shampoo.

“Using Hitler, whose brutal ideology caused the deaths of millions of people, in a commercial in order to be different or create awareness (of a product) is unacceptable,” a statement posted on Istanbul’s chief rabbinate’s website said on Monday. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »