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ISRAEL SELLS SPY CAMERA TO TURKEY DESPITE RISK
Written by Arieh O'Sullivan
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=32223
Published Thursday, May 19, 2011
Honoring contract from friendlier days, Israel holds out hope for
renewed warmth
In a carrot and stick move, Israel's defense establishment has approved
the sale of a sophisticated intelligence system to Turkey even the
Knesset decided to debate a resolution recognizing the Armenian
genocide, an issue that will almost certainly anger Ankara.
"I can see a coincidence here. On the one hand, Israel approves a
defense deal and, on the other, lets the Turks know that there is a
limit to what Israel is expected to take," Amikam Nahmani, head of
the department for political studies at Bar Ilan University near Tel
Aviv, told The Media Line. "There's room for both states to renovate
and improve their ties."
The once close Turkish-Israel alliance has greatly deteriorated,
particularly since last May's assault by Israeli commandos on a
Turkish ship participating in a flotilla trying to break Israel's
blockade of the Gaza Strip. Eight Turks and one American of Turkish
descent were killed in the raid.
Turkey has recently asked Israel to provide it with the identities
of soldiers involved so it can prosecute them. Israel has warned that
it will meet flotillas planned for next month with an iron fist.
On Wednesday, Israel's Knesset decided 20-0 to openly discuss the
Armenian genocide. Until now, the government has always acted to
keep the issue under wrap inside the closed-door Defense And Foreign
Relations Committee in order not to jeopardize ties with Turkey. This
time, the government supported the proposal.
And yet, earlier in the week, Israel's Ministry of Defense finally
approved the sale of a sensitive spy camera to Turkey, despite
fears that the technology could find its way to hostile, third party
elements.
The deal had been signed at the tail end of the flowering of strategic
ties between Israel and Turkey. Deliver of the system, an airborne
camera capable of being mounted on fighter jets, had been delayed for
development problems. By the time they were solved, bilateral relations
had deteriorated and the government began foot-dragging on delivery.
The system is the LOROP or Long-Range Oblique Photography pod, built
by Israel's top defense companies. It is considered the pinnacle in
Israeli technology, one of the reasons why the Israeli Ministry of
Defense was hesitant to see it in foreign hands.
All Israeli weapons sales must be approved by the Defense Export
Department, or Sibat, a branch within the Ministry Of Defense.
According to Israeldefense, an Israeli website with close ties to the
defense establishment, Sibat approved the transfer of the system in
order improve the strained ties with Turkey.
It also estimated that should advanced components of the system fall
into third party hands, despite Turkish commitments to the contrary,
the damage would be "not very bad." It also said that not honoring
a signed agreement could be problematic for the future.
Defense Ministry spokesman Zeev Finer declined to confirm or deny the
decision, saying only that his ministry "did not comment on defense
exports." Defense industry officials also were unusually mum on the
report saying that they had been instructed to tie their tongues
regarding any defense sales to Turkey.
The LOROP is produced jointly by El-Op, a subsidiary of Elbit, and
Elta, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the two
largest defense firms in the country. Its electro-optic camera is
considered one of the most advanced in the world and capable of taking
high-resolution images used to locate targets and assess attack damage,
night or day.
One of the advantages of this system was its communication package,
which reportedly allows real-time downloading to command centers and
the ability to photograph at angles so that jets do not have to enter
hostile airspace to get a picture of the battlefield.
The deal was reportedly worth $140 million. Turkey had filed
a complaint over the delayed delivery. Now that it finally won
government approval, the system is expected to be transferred to the
Turks in the coming weeks, the daily Ma'ariv said.
While Israel hasn't signed any new defense deals with Turkey since
last summer, it has allowed contracts that had been signed previously
to be completed, including the supply of unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) and upgrades of battle tanks.
Turkey remains a lucrative market to be tapped. Turkey expects to
spend more than $4 billion for defense procurement in 2011, according
to Defense News. Its domestic defense industry grew 19% last year.
Israeli defense industries are expecting a defense export dip and
still see this as fertile ground for their platform-enhancing systems.
"Turkey is invited to repent," said Nahmani. "I don't think they
benefited from abandoning their alliance with Israel. I don't see how
the Arab world was returning to them any dividend for this and there
was no reason for it. I think that both states have joint interests;
they are both stable and pro Western."
Even as diplomatic ties chilled during 2010, bilateral trade reached
$3.5 billion, up from $1.3 billion just a decade ago. The uptrend
has continued into this year. Israeli imported some $354 million
of Turkish goods in January-February, up from $282 million a year
earlier. Meanwhile, Israeli exports to Turkey reached $302 million
in the first two months of the year, up from $170 million the same
time in 2010.
Nahmani said the era of relations between Israel and other states being
a function of government and defense interest is being overtaken by
business interests.
"Businessmen and tour operators and traders and industrialists and
exporters are interested in making a profit and as long as they
are making money the relationship will remain. The longevity of the
Turkish-Israeli relations is explained because they were built only
because of the government/defense relations were a minor part."
He said "hundreds of thousands" of people in Israel and Turkey have
a vested interest that this commercial relationship continues.
Written by Arieh O'Sullivan
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=32223
Published Thursday, May 19, 2011
Honoring contract from friendlier days, Israel holds out hope for
renewed warmth
In a carrot and stick move, Israel's defense establishment has approved
the sale of a sophisticated intelligence system to Turkey even the
Knesset decided to debate a resolution recognizing the Armenian
genocide, an issue that will almost certainly anger Ankara.
"I can see a coincidence here. On the one hand, Israel approves a
defense deal and, on the other, lets the Turks know that there is a
limit to what Israel is expected to take," Amikam Nahmani, head of
the department for political studies at Bar Ilan University near Tel
Aviv, told The Media Line. "There's room for both states to renovate
and improve their ties."
The once close Turkish-Israel alliance has greatly deteriorated,
particularly since last May's assault by Israeli commandos on a
Turkish ship participating in a flotilla trying to break Israel's
blockade of the Gaza Strip. Eight Turks and one American of Turkish
descent were killed in the raid.
Turkey has recently asked Israel to provide it with the identities
of soldiers involved so it can prosecute them. Israel has warned that
it will meet flotillas planned for next month with an iron fist.
On Wednesday, Israel's Knesset decided 20-0 to openly discuss the
Armenian genocide. Until now, the government has always acted to
keep the issue under wrap inside the closed-door Defense And Foreign
Relations Committee in order not to jeopardize ties with Turkey. This
time, the government supported the proposal.
And yet, earlier in the week, Israel's Ministry of Defense finally
approved the sale of a sensitive spy camera to Turkey, despite
fears that the technology could find its way to hostile, third party
elements.
The deal had been signed at the tail end of the flowering of strategic
ties between Israel and Turkey. Deliver of the system, an airborne
camera capable of being mounted on fighter jets, had been delayed for
development problems. By the time they were solved, bilateral relations
had deteriorated and the government began foot-dragging on delivery.
The system is the LOROP or Long-Range Oblique Photography pod, built
by Israel's top defense companies. It is considered the pinnacle in
Israeli technology, one of the reasons why the Israeli Ministry of
Defense was hesitant to see it in foreign hands.
All Israeli weapons sales must be approved by the Defense Export
Department, or Sibat, a branch within the Ministry Of Defense.
According to Israeldefense, an Israeli website with close ties to the
defense establishment, Sibat approved the transfer of the system in
order improve the strained ties with Turkey.
It also estimated that should advanced components of the system fall
into third party hands, despite Turkish commitments to the contrary,
the damage would be "not very bad." It also said that not honoring
a signed agreement could be problematic for the future.
Defense Ministry spokesman Zeev Finer declined to confirm or deny the
decision, saying only that his ministry "did not comment on defense
exports." Defense industry officials also were unusually mum on the
report saying that they had been instructed to tie their tongues
regarding any defense sales to Turkey.
The LOROP is produced jointly by El-Op, a subsidiary of Elbit, and
Elta, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the two
largest defense firms in the country. Its electro-optic camera is
considered one of the most advanced in the world and capable of taking
high-resolution images used to locate targets and assess attack damage,
night or day.
One of the advantages of this system was its communication package,
which reportedly allows real-time downloading to command centers and
the ability to photograph at angles so that jets do not have to enter
hostile airspace to get a picture of the battlefield.
The deal was reportedly worth $140 million. Turkey had filed
a complaint over the delayed delivery. Now that it finally won
government approval, the system is expected to be transferred to the
Turks in the coming weeks, the daily Ma'ariv said.
While Israel hasn't signed any new defense deals with Turkey since
last summer, it has allowed contracts that had been signed previously
to be completed, including the supply of unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) and upgrades of battle tanks.
Turkey remains a lucrative market to be tapped. Turkey expects to
spend more than $4 billion for defense procurement in 2011, according
to Defense News. Its domestic defense industry grew 19% last year.
Israeli defense industries are expecting a defense export dip and
still see this as fertile ground for their platform-enhancing systems.
"Turkey is invited to repent," said Nahmani. "I don't think they
benefited from abandoning their alliance with Israel. I don't see how
the Arab world was returning to them any dividend for this and there
was no reason for it. I think that both states have joint interests;
they are both stable and pro Western."
Even as diplomatic ties chilled during 2010, bilateral trade reached
$3.5 billion, up from $1.3 billion just a decade ago. The uptrend
has continued into this year. Israeli imported some $354 million
of Turkish goods in January-February, up from $282 million a year
earlier. Meanwhile, Israeli exports to Turkey reached $302 million
in the first two months of the year, up from $170 million the same
time in 2010.
Nahmani said the era of relations between Israel and other states being
a function of government and defense interest is being overtaken by
business interests.
"Businessmen and tour operators and traders and industrialists and
exporters are interested in making a profit and as long as they
are making money the relationship will remain. The longevity of the
Turkish-Israeli relations is explained because they were built only
because of the government/defense relations were a minor part."
He said "hundreds of thousands" of people in Israel and Turkey have
a vested interest that this commercial relationship continues.