Wednesday, June 23, 2010

**JP** Turkey freezes $56 Billion of Israeli contracts

  • Turkey is reported to have frozen at least 16 arms deals with Israel worth an estimated $56 billion
  • Contracts were suspended after the Israeli government refused to apologize for the May 31 killing of nine Turks
  • Just a matter of time before Ankara officially froze all defense deals with Israel
  • Turkish President Abdullah Gul has warned that Ankara would not rule out breaking off diplomatic ties if three demands — an international probe, a public Israeli apology and lifting the three-year-old blockade on Gaza — are not met.
  • "If the United States cannot be relied upon to pressure Israel on meeting these demands, Ankara will have to find some lever to do so itself," the U.S.-based global security consultancy Stratfor observed in an analysis Tuesday.
  • "One such lever may be military and intelligence cooperation, which Israel has historically relied upon.

TEL AVIV, Israel, June 18 — Turkey is reported to have frozen at least 16 arms deals with Israel worth an estimated $56 billion, including missile projects and upgrading combat aircraft and tanks, in a major escalation of its confrontation with the Jewish state...


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