Sound The Trumpet : Turkey Tightens Syrian - Iranian Axis After Snubbing Israel

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“Turkey Tightens Syrian - Iranian Axis After Snubbing Israel”
by Arutz Sheva - Tzvi Ben Gadalyahu
October 15th, 2009

Turkey Ties the Knot with Syria
The threat of the anti-Israel axis north of the border worsened Wednesday with the announcement that Turkey, which has close ties with Iran, conducted joint military drills with Syria after snubbing Israel.

The maneuvers were held last week, revealed Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, who made the announcement on the Qatar-based Arabic-language Al Jazeera news network. "One week ago, Syria and Turkey carried out maneuvers near Ankara," Moallem announced. "This is important because it refutes reports of poor relations between the military and political institutes in Turkey over its strategic relations with Syria."

The Syrian-Turkish military exercises were apparently being held at the same time that Turkey was informing Jerusalem that it would ban the IAF from participating in the joint Anatolian Eagle exercise, a move that was not made public by Israel until Sunday. The war games, scheduled to be held together with Turkey, the U.S. and Italy, reportedly were to include mock bombing raids in air space near the borders of Iran, Iraq and Syria. Israeli planes are believed to have passed through Turkish air space two years ago during the attack on a Syrian nuclear facility under construction.

Two decades of close ties between Ankara and Jerusalem appear to be coming to an end, the Asia Times reported Wednesday. It explained that demands from the Arab world and from hard-line Muslims in Turkey have influenced the government to distance itself from Israel, which has supplied Ankara with hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of equipment for refurbishing tanks and airplanes.

"This is a seriously worrying development," former Israeli Air Force Commander Eitan Ben-Eliyahu told an interviewer on Israeli television. "Turkey is critically essential in the training of our air force over wide spaces, particularly given Turkey's strategic location adjacent to both Iran and Syria."

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Tzachi HaNegbi (Kadima) stated that the cancellation of the joint military exercise is a "troubling" development.

Turkish officials tried to calm harsh Israeli reactions to the surprise cancellation, but Israeli officials charged that the government of Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan is trying to punish Israel for the three-week Operation Cast Lead counterterrorist war against Gaza that concluded in mid-January.

Prime Minister Erdogan also has been in the forefront of criticizing the United Nations decision last month not to discuss the Goldstone Report that accused Israel of war crimes in the Gaza operation. The U.N. now is considering reversing its position.

End of an Era?

The change in the friendship between Turkey and Israel, which one senior Israeli official admitted may “have simply ended,” leaves Israel without any friendly nation close to the northern border. The Asia Times noted that the cancellation of the aerial exercise may have severe implications on the effort to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

A Turkish-Syrian treaty signed Tuesday included plans to strengthen military ties and to end visa requirements for each country. Ten Turkish ministers flew to Syria for the high-level meeting with Syrian counterparts.

Syria also praised Turkey for pulling out of the military exercise with Israel and urged other Muslim countries, mainly Jordan and Egypt, to cut diplomatic ties with Israel. Jordan this week threatened to withdraw its ambassador to Israel if Israeli police enter the Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount.

Turkey also played a critical role as intermediary in indirect talks between Syria and Israel during the term of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Art's Commentary.....The alliance of Ezekiel 38-39 continues to grow.

Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13