Israel, Turkey and Jordan hold joint rescue drill

It can be gathered from the article below that perhaps there has been some easing in the Turkish "cold shoulder" of israel, since Israel was "allowed" to participate in a search and rescue drill.

 

Turkey and Israel hold joint drill, in apparent ease of tensions
By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent Haaretz Service

 

Israel, Jordan, and Turkey conducted a joint search and rescue military drill two weeks ago, the Turkish daily Zaman reported on Monday, pointing to an apparent ease in recent tensions between Jerusalem and Ankara.

 

The exercise reportedly took place in the Turkish army's special forces training ground, in the vicinity of the Turkish capital.

 

Zaman also reported that, as a result of the drill's objectives, air force units did not take participate, and that the exercise was deemed a success by all parties.
 
The newspaper report added that Industry and Trade Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer was scheduled to visit Turkey in ten days.

 

The Turkish daily also reported on Monday that Israel was ready to complete a long-delayed weapons deal with Turkey cited by some sources as the catalyst for recent tensions between the allies.

 

Technical problems leading to a two-year delay of 10 Heron-type drones, have finally been resolved, according to the report.

 

Turkey signed the $180 deal to purchase the Herons from Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit several years ago. Israeli media reported that Turkey was considering scrapping the deal when Israel failed to meet production deadlines.

 

Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, however, denied that Turkey would had any plans to cancel the contract.

 

A Turkish defense source said Monday that Israel and Turkey were in the midst of negotiating how much Israel would pay in compensation over the missed deadline.

 

An Israeli official denied the official's remark, saying that the Israeli defense industry had met every clause in their contract with Turkey.

 

"They're looking for excuses. There were no delays aside for minor problems with a local manufacturer that was producing some of the parts for the drones, but that has nothing to do with Israel," the source said.

 

A Turkish air force official told Zaman last month that the delayed deal was the real reason Ankara had banned Israel from a NATO air force exercises on its territory, and not - as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said - because of its opposition to Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip.

 

"Turkey needs those vehicles in its fight against terror. What led to the recent crisis between Turkey and Israel was the delay in the delivery," a Turkey air force official told Zaman.

 

The report quoted a Turkish government spokesperson and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek as saying that a proposal for the cancellation of the drill came from the General Staff as a response to yet another delay in the delivery of the Israeli UAVs to Turkey.

 

"The proposal for cancellation came from the General Staff, not the government. However, there was no disagreement between the two bodies on the decision," Cicek was quoted as saying.

 

The report stressed that the Turkish government had no hand in the decision to cancel the exercise. "The Anatolian Eagle [exercise] is an organization of the Turkish Armed Forces. It is up to the air forces and the General Staff to decide on which countries will participate in the exercises. The government has not interfered in the decision," Cicek was quoted as saying.

 

The Turkish-Israeli crisis reached a peak on Jan. 29 after Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan walked out of a panel discussion in Davos in protest of Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip.

 

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also commented on the recent drill crisis and called on every country to refrain from any act that could harm the atmosphere of peace and stability in the region.

 

Last month, AFP quoted Erdogan as saying that "diplomatic sensitivities" led his government to ban Israel from a joint NATO air force drill,.

 

"There is military cooperation between Turkey and Israel...but currently there are diplomatic sensitivities that we have to take into consideration," AFP quoted Edrogan as telling the Dubai-based channel Al-Arabiya.

 

"We have taken the conscience of our people into consideration when we decided.... I had to be the voice that expresses the existence of my people and my people were rejecting Israel's participation.

 

"We discussed it with the responsible parties and said yes, these drills will take place but Israel will not take part in them," he had said.