Turkey-Israel Reconciliation

On 31 May 2010, Mavi Marmara the flagship of Gaza freedom flotilla was attacked in the international waters of the Mediterranean Sea by Israeli special forces. Nine Turkish activists were killed in the attack. The flotilla was heading to Gaza strip in attempt to break the siege.

The Turkish-Israeli diplomatic relation was frozen following the attack and Turkey withdrew its ambassador and expelled Israel’s ambassador in February 2011.
Nevertheless, the economic ties have never been negatively affected and the double-taxation prevention treaty remained valid despite the diplomatic tensions.

Turkey laid down three conditions for the normalization with Israel. The first condition was an apology from Israel. The second was the payment of the compensation and the third one is to end the blockade on Gaza.

However, Turkish and Israeli officials met in Switzerland on Thursday where a preliminary reconciliation deal was set to be reached between the two countries, a senior Turkish official said.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the agreement between the two countries includes the following:
1. In the framework of the agreement, Israel will pay Turkey $20 million in compensation, which will be transferred to a special fund that will in turn provide grants to the families of the Turkish citizens who were killed or injured in the Israel Navy's takeover of the Mavi Marmara.

2. Turkey and Israel will renew and normalize their relations and return their respective ambassadors to Tel Aviv and Ankara.

3. The Turkish parliament will pass a law that will annul all legal claims against Israeli Defense Force officers and soldiers in connection with the flotilla incident and will prevent future claims from being filed.

4. Turkey will expel Saleh al-Aruri, a senior member of Hamas' military wing, who is based in Istanbul.

5. Once the final agreement between the two countries has been signed, Turkey and Israel will explore cooperating in the natural gas field – with Turkey buying gas from Israel's offshore oil fields and the laying of a gas pipeline that would run via Turkey and through which Israel would export gas to Europe.

According to the leaked items, Gaza blockade will not be completely ended although it was the reason for murdering nine Turkish activists in the international water of the Mediterranean sea. Their mission was clear; to break the siege over Gaza.

It's about Gas

"Turkey is preparing to cut imports of LPG from Russia by a significant 25% next year. This puts a major damper on the Gazprom -Botas Petroleum Turkish Stream project, a project that was designed to connect Turkey to Europe through Greece. 
When that deal was discussed, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry lobbied the Greek government to diversify its supply by turning to U.S. fuel instead of cheaper Russian imports."

Fifty nine percent of Turkey's gas imported from Russia, and Turkey seeks to replace the Russian gas with Israeli one. The sales volume from Turkey is equivalent of 17 percent of Gazprom’s total exports outside the former Soviet Union, according to company data.

Turkey's Gas sources in 2012

On the other hand, Israel is looking forward to export its gas to Europe, which is about 500 km from Israeli coasts and Turkey constitutes a feasible route. Turkey also controls parts of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, between Israel and Europe.

Israel's natural gas could go to Europe through Turkey since building pipelines under the Mediterranean is costly and difficult. The Leviathan gas field is believed to have a reserve of more than 620 billion cubic meters.

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Israel Appoints Special Team to Plan Strike on Iran

By Ari Yashar, Arutz Sheva |  

As world powers and Iran reach a deadline Tuesday – which may be extended – for talks on the Islamic regime’s nuclear program, Israel is taking steps to prepare for a military strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities so as to defend itself from the impending threat.

Iran has refused to allow inspections of its covert nuclear sites and declared it will use advanced centrifuges as soon as a deal is met, meaning the leading state sponsor of terrorism could potentially obtain a nuclear arsenal within weeks, all while getting billions of dollars in sanctions relief through a nuclear deal.

The Hebrew-language Walla! reported Tuesday that it has learned from a foreign source that IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot has appointed Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Yair Golan to head a special team tasked with examining the military options against Iran.

The team would explore what kind of striking options are available to Israel after a deal with Iran is signed.

By appointing such a senior IDF official to the team, it is estimated that Israel is considering the signing of a deal to be a game changer which would require a serious reevaluation of the regional situation, and likely necessitate military action against Iran.

Sources close to Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon (Likud) say there is a pressing need to present a powerful military option against Iran, a reality which is being used to demand that the defense budget not be reduced by the Knesset.

For over 15 years the IDF has been examining the possibility of military action against Iran’s ever burgeoning nuclear program, and the majority of the funding for such preparedness has gone to the Israeli Air Force (IAF) and the IDF’s intelligence branch.

“Iran is lying – what do we do?”

A source close to Ya’alon was quoted by Walla! saying, “nothing has changed regarding the military option. Our working assumption is that Iran is lying all the time, beyond the fact that it is funding and directing terror in the Middle East. It (Iran) is our most bitter enemy today, even though we don’t share a physical border with it, and we must not put off any kind of preparedness against it.”

“In the end we don’t believe Iran. We don’t believe the (nuclear) project will be stopped. Therefore the (military) option will remain. …We need to be ready also for the day in which Israel will need to make decisions alone. (What) if it becomes clear they are pushing the envelope in breach of the agreement? Or if Iran goes down deep underground (with its nuclear facilities)? And if new sites are found? Will we wait for the US to take care of them?”

“You have to prepare yourself for all of the threats. Not only for Gaza and Lebanon,” added the source. “The military option costs money but the more time goes by, you’re better prepared to carry out the mission.”

Indicating Israel’s growing preparedness ahead of a potential military clash with Iran, the IAF held a special drill with the Greek air force two months ago, in which roughly 100 members of the IAF took part including dozens of crews from all the F-16i squadrons.

The unusual drill had IAF pilots operating in unfamiliar territory for a night and the following day, and included simulations of strikes and dogfights involving dozens of fighter jets.

Most importantly, in the drill the Greek army reportedly deployed advanced anti-missile defense systems similar to the Russian S-300 that Moscow sold to Iran and has yet to ship. The advanced S-300 system is considered to be a major challenge in carrying out an airstrike in that it can shoot down rockets as well as jets.

Source: Arutz Sheva

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Another Israeli Airstrike On Syria

Today Israeli jets attacked some Syrian military positions near Damascus. Details are yet unknown. But it is important to note that these are not one-off attacks but part for an ongoing active campaign Israel is waging against Syria mostly though through proxy "insurgent" forces.
Three days ago the UN General Secretary received a report from the UN Observer Mission mission on the Golan Heights (UNDOF). The report was an indictment of Israel for its strong cooperation with Syrian insurgents including the Syrian al-Qaeda group Jabhat al-Nusra.

Israeli airstrike on Syria (Naharnet)

For readers of MoA the extensive support by Israel of Jabhat al-Nusra and others against the Syrian army, including with direct artillery fire against Syrian government troops, is not news. But the main-stream media had so far lacked any reporting on it.
Today the Israeli paper Haaretz is the first to publish about the UN report but it does so very toned done and lacking significant details:

Reports by UN observers in the Golan Heights over the past 18 months reveal the type and extent of cooperation between Israel and Syrian opposition figures.
...
According to the report, UN observers stated that tents were set up about 300 meters from the Israeli position for some 70 families of Syrian deserters. The Syrian army sent a letter of complaint to UNDOF in September, claiming this tent camp was a base for “armed terrorists” crossing the border into Israel.

While Haaretz notes some medical support for wounded insurgent fighters it Israel in does not reveal that the numbers are in the hundreds.
Haaretz notes the "refugee" camp that has been set up near Al Aishah village in Syria some 300 meter from Israeli positions but it omits that the UN confirmed the Syrian claim that these are camps of active insurgents. UNDOF notes:

UNDOF estimates that from 60 to 70 families live in the camps. On 23 September, [UNDOF-]position 80 observed armed individuals gathered in Al Aishah village unloading weapons from a truck. Some individuals were in civilian attire and others in camouflage uniforms. A vehicle with a mounted anti-aircraft gun was observed in proximity to the place of unloading.
...
On 27 October, position 80 observed two IDF soldiers east of the technical fence returning from the direction of the Alpha line towards the technical fence. UNDOF observed IDF opening the technical fence gate and letting two individuals pass from the [Syrian] Bravo to the [Israeli] Alpha side. Following the evacuation of UNDOF personnel from position 85 on 28 August, UNDOF sporadically observed armed members of the opposition interacting with IDF across the ceasefire line in the vicinity of United Nations position 85.

The UNDOF observers had to retreat from some of their positions on the Syrian side after being attacked by Nusra and other insurgents. They are now limited in their abilities to observe the various exchanges between Israeli soldiers and the insurgents. To achieve that was likely the purpose of their earlier attacks on UN troops.
Today's attack near Damascus will hardly change the course of the war. It is probably just a political move by the outgoing Israeli prime minister Netanyahoo using Syria as a "punching bag" to divert from his interior political misfortune. It is time for Syria and its allied forces to demonstrate to Netanyahoo and Israel that any further attacks by it will have dire consequences.
Source: MoA

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The Middle East: Clear As Mud

The Middle East: Clear As Mud

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Lies Of The Middle East

In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics.’ All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.

— George Orwell

Illustration: the middle east

Iran and its axis

Iran has been rising the banner against the American domination in the region since 1979. The banner 'Down with U.S.A.' was attached on Tehran's long buildings till recently. Moreover, deceased Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini called the successive American administrations as 'Great Satan' and he also called Israel as 'Malignant Tumor in The Region'.
However, Iran's Ayatollah has supported the U.S. invasion in Afghanistan by supporting Afghani  'Northern Alliance' which was led by Ahmad Shah Masoud (he was assassinated by Taliban). Iran also supported the U.S.-appointed Iraqi officials after Iraq's invasion, for example former Iraqi PMs Ibrahim al-Ja'fari and Nuri al-Maliki were Iran-backed till recently, when both U.S. and Iran left al-Maliki alone to appoint the current PM.

Gulf monarchies, the classical U.S.-Israel's allies

A Medieval dynasties control these countries and totally depend on foreign military support as they guard oil wells in the middle east. Conversely, the Western governments blind their eyes on humiliating human rights in these monarchies.
Ironically, Gulf monarchies have condemned massacres of the Syrian dictator Bashar al-assad and called for international coalition against his regime.
The U.S. president Roosevelt tightened the American-Saudi relations with the first Saudi king Abdul-Aziz Ibn Saud to guaranty the oil flow and stop the Soviet influence over the middle east.
This axis includes other non-Gulf states, like Egypt, Jordan and Morocco

Qatar and Turkey, the new pro-West axis

The Islamist government of Turkey is engaging an organic relationship with Muslim brotherhood. However, the neo-Ottoman policy has just arisen in favor of Recep Erdogan. Turkish regional influence and Muslim brothers are the two keywords in the neo-Ottoman policy. But the Qatari dynasty is not running within the Saudi stream in the Gulf since the bloodless coup in Qatar, 1995. Moreover, the tiny monarchy is competing the Saudi counterpart for the influence over the Arab world, but neither Qatar's population nor its geographic location helps the dynasty to achieve its ambition.

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