ISRAEL RETHINKS ARMS SALES TO TURKEY
By HERB KEINON AND YAAKOV KATZ

Jerusalem Post
Oct 12, 2009 0:12

While Israel kept a low official profile Sunday on Turkey’s
cancellation of a joint military exercise, defense officials
said advanced weapons sales to Turkey would now be reviewed, and a
leading academic expert on Israeli-Turkish relations suggested ending
support for Turkey on the Armenian genocide issue in Washington if
the deterioration in ties continues.

Turkish naval ships are seen…

Turkish naval ships are seen in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast
of Haifa during a joint US, Israeli and Turkish military exercise in
2008. (file) Photo: AP SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World

According to defense officials, several Turkish requests are currently
under consideration by the Defense Ministry’s Foreign Defense
Assistance and Defense Export Organization (SIBAT). These will now
need to be reviewed due to the change in the diplomatic ties between
Jerusalem and Ankara.

"This is a country that appears to be distancing itself from the
West and there could be repercussions," one official said, adding
that in the 1970s, Israel sold Iran military equipment up until the
Islamic Revolution.

The officials would not reveal which new military platforms Turkey
had requested.

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Ephraim Inbar, head of the BESA Center for Strategic Studies at
Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, who has written widely on the
Israeli-Turkish relationship, said that while someone high up in the
Turkish decision-making hierarchy has decided to "teach the Israelis
a lesson," Ankara still needed Israeli influence in Washington to
prevent the passage in Congress of a resolution declaring the killing
of Armenians during World War I a genocide.

Israel should "sit and wait" this year on this issue, Inbar said.

"If they behave, we should help; if not, then while we should not
actively work against them, we should let them know shington daily
The Hill reported on Sunday that despite the signing of an historic
agreement between Armenia and Turkey on Saturday, the perennial
lobbying battle over the contentious Armenian Genocide resolution
would continue.

According to the report, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) intends to
move forward with the resolution, one Turkey works hard every year to
deflect. The non-binding congressional measure would recognize the
killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks as genocide,
and has proven over the years to be a red flag for Ankara.

The Hill reported that despite Armenia and Turkey’s gradual
reconciliation, US lawmakers are still signing onto Schiff’s
resolution, and it now has 134 co-sponsors.

Schiff, according to the report, said he was not sure when the measure
would come before the House Foreign Affairs Committee for approval
and then move onto the floor for a vote.

One senior Israeli diplomatic official, meanwhile, counseled against
taking this type of drastic action, and said that while Israeli-Turkish
relations were "getting complicated," Israel should not do anything
"abruptly."

"There is room for quiet diplomacy, and not to take actions that
would move things beyond repair. The situation can still be mended,
nobody wants to push Turkey into the hands of Iran," he said.

This advice was heeded by the Foreign Ministry over the weekend,
which instructed diplomats to make no comment on the matter, but
rather to refer all queries to the defense establishment.

Turkey informed Israel on Thursday that it would not allow the IAF to
participate in the annual Anatolian Eagle exercise that was scheduled
for this week. As a result, the United States and Italy also dropped
out of the exercise.

Turkey said that it was concerned the aircraft Israel planned to
send had participated in bombing runs against Hamas targets in the
Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead in December 2008 and January
2009. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was fiercely critical
of Israel’s actions during the ing a sharp nosedive in relations.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu confirmed in an interview
with CNN on Sunday night that the decision was connected to the IDF’s
Operation Cast Lead.

"We hope that the situation in Gaza will be improved, that the
situation will be back to the diplomatic track. And that will create
a new atmosphere in Turkish-Israeli relations as well. But in the
existing situation, of course, we are criticizing this approach,
[the] Israeli approach," he said.

Davutoglu said Turkey would be conducting "a national military exercise
now after consultations with all the parties involved."

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, reflecting the policy of trying
to play down the tensions, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday: "Turkey
is very important, and our relationship is very strategic. Turkey
is very important for the stability and promotion of peace in the
Middle East."

Despite the recent hiccups in the relationship, Ayalon described
Turkey as "the antithesis to Iran. Here is a Muslim country that is
both a democracy and tolerant, living in good relations with Israel
because it is in the interest of both countries to do so."

But Inbar said that a change was taking place in Turkey, and the
incident over the military exercise should be seen within the context
of the country slowly distancing itself from the West, and becoming
more Muslim in tone and character.

He said Ankara’s hosting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and
Sudan’s President Omer Hassan al-Bashir last year was an indication
of this trend, as was Erdogan’s recent comments against anti-Iranian
sanctions.

"This is all part of the crisis of identity the country is undergoing,"
Inbar said, adding that the agreement signed on Saturday night with
Armenia was not a sign of Turkey’s moving closer to the West, but
rather an indication that Ankara wanted its borders quiet.

According to Inbar, the decision on the military exercise was a
reflection of Ankara’s anger that Israel refused over the summer to
let Turkey’s Foreign Mini oglu visit Gaza, and hold meetings with Hamas
officials. Davutoglu subsequently called off a planned trip to Israel.

Despite the growing tensions, Israel and Turkey have continued to do
business over the past year.

Last December, subsidiaries of Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit
Systems signed a $140 million contract to supply the Turkish Air Force
with targeting pods. Israeli Military Industries recently completed
a $700m. deal signed several years ago with Turkey to upgrade the
country’s fleet of aging Patton-series M60 tanks.

Turkish naval ships are seen…

Turkish naval ships are seen in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of
Haifa during a joint US, Israeli and Turkish military exercise in 2008.

Photo: AP

IAI also recently supplied Turkey with its advanced long-range Heron
unmanned aerial vehicle.

Israel, nevertheless, was not invited in September to present a
proposal for a missile defense system Turkey is interested in buying,
though it asked Chinese, American and Russian companies to bid.