Archive for December 28, 2018

« WarSclerotic home page

US troop withdrawal from Syria could take several months — report 

December 28, 2018

Source: US troop withdrawal from Syria could take several months — report | The Times of Israel

Officials tell ABC News that pullout plan will be carefully executed to ensure the safety of all US personnel and the removal of all military hardware

By TOI STAFF and AGENCIESToday, 11:35 am
This Tuesday, March 7, 2017 frame grab from video provided by Arab 24 network, shows US forces take up positions on the outskirts of the Syrian town, Manbij, a flashpoint between Turkish troops and allied Syrian fighters and US-backed Kurdish fighters, in al-Asaliyah village, Aleppo province, Syria (Arab 24 network, via AP)

This Tuesday, March 7, 2017 frame grab from video provided by Arab 24 network, shows US forces take up positions on the outskirts of the Syrian town, Manbij, a flashpoint between Turkish troops and allied Syrian fighters and US-backed Kurdish fighters, in al-Asaliyah village, Aleppo province, Syria (Arab 24 network, via AP)

The Trump administration’s plan to withdraw American troops from Syria could take several months to implement, US officials told ABC NewsFriday, stressing that an exact time frame has not yet been agreed.

Shortly after US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement that the forces would pullout, officials said the plan could be implemented in as little as 30 days.

However, according to ABC, the pace of withdrawal could actually be far slower, appearing to confirm the president’s statement during a surprise trip to Iraq on Wednesday when he said there would be a “strong, deliberate and orderly withdrawal” of US forces from Syria, where they have been helping battle Islamic State jihadists.

Officials told ABC that the withdrawal plan will be carefully executed to ensure the safety of all US personnel, as well as the removal of all military hardware from the country.

In this photo from April 28, 2017, US forces, accompanied by Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) fighters, drive their armored vehicles near the northern Syrian village of Darbasiyah, on the border with Turkey. (Delil Souleiman/AFP)

Officials said US and coalition aircraft will carry out airstrikes and provide air support for US troops during the withdrawal, but it was not made clear whether the strikes would continue after the pullout.

The president this week defended his decision to pull the troops out, saying that it is because of US military gains that he can withdraw 2,000 forces from Syria.

“We’re no longer the suckers, folks,” Trump told American servicemen and women at a base in western Iraq. “We’re respected again as a nation.”

“I made it clear from the beginning that our mission in Syria was to strip ISIS of its military strongholds,” Trump told troops clad in fatigues at al-Asad Airbase west of Baghdad.

US President Donald Trump speaks at a hanger rally at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, on December 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

“Eight years ago, we went there for three months and we never left,” he said. “Now, we’re doing it right and we’re going to finish it off.”

“It’s not fair when the burden is all on us,” he said. “We don’t want to be taken advantage of any more by countries that use us and use our incredible military to protect them. They don’t pay for it and they’re going to have to.”

“We are spread out all over the world. We are in countries most people haven’t even heard about. Frankly, it’s ridiculous,” he added.

He said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to take out “any remnants” of IS left in Syria. The US presence in Syria was not meant to be “open-ended,” he said, adding that other wealthy nations should pay for rebuilding Syria.

“The nations of the region must step up and take more responsibility for their future,” said Trump.

Trump’s trip to Iraq came a week after he stunned his national security advisers by announcing the US troop withdrawal from Syria.

In this file from November 4, 2018, US forces patrol the Kurdish-held town of Al-Darbasiyah in northeastern Syria. (Delil Souleiman/AFP)

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis abruptly resigned following the announcement, and Trump’s decision rattled allies around the world, including in Iraq.

Trump told reporters he had overruled generals asking to extend the Syria deployment, where about 2,000 US forces, joined by other foreign troops, assist local fighters battling the Islamic State jihadist group.

“You can’t have any more time. You’ve had enough time,” he said he told the top brass.

For Israel, the pullout leaves it without a staunch ally in the fight against Iran in Syria and potentially opens the door for the Islamic Republic to create a so-called “land bridge” from Iran, through Iraq and Syria, into Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea.

Until now, American troops have been stationed in northeastern Syria, along the Iraqi border, blocking such a corridor, through which Iran could more easily distribute advanced weapons and technology throughout the region, especially to its Lebanese client the Hezbollah terrorist army.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at an event with Christian IDF soldiers for Christmas and the New Year at the Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv, December 23, 2018. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel would step up its fight against Iran’s military presence in Syria, amid concerns that the US military’s pullout from the war-torn country would limit the Jewish state’s ability to operate there.

Israel has repeatedly vowed to prevent Iran establishing a permanent presence in Syria and Lebanon and has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in recent years against Iran-backed forces and attempts to smuggle advanced weapons to Hezbollah.

Israel allegedly carried out a series of airstrikes in Syria on Tuesday evening, with the IDF announcing it had deployed air defenses against a missile fired from Syria as Damascus attempted to repel the alleged strikes.

Israel’s Channel 10 news reported that Netanyahu tried in vain to persuade Trump to change his mind, and that there was tremendous “disappointment” in Jerusalem over the pullout, which is regarded as a victory for Russia, Iran and Hezbollah.

The TV report described the US move as “a slap in the face” for Israel, noting that the US presence in Syria was “the only bargaining chip” in Israel’s efforts to persuade Russia to prevent Iran deepening its entrenchment in Syria.

 

Categories: Uncategorized

Comments: Be the first to comment

Nature abhors a vacuum 

December 28, 2018

Source: Nature abhors a vacuum – Israel Hayom

The strike in Syria sought to send a message not only to Tehran, Damascus and Beirut, but also to Moscow and Washington that Israel will not relent on protecting its security interests • Election-time politics must not be allowed to undercut this policy.

Yoav Limor

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the members of the ‎Diplomatic-Security Cabinet, who toured the Israel-Lebanon border on ‎Tuesday, were the first to hear about the fifth Hezbollah terror tunnel ‎snaking under the security fence. ‎

News of the discovery officially broke only on Thursday, after the IDF ‎had destroyed the underground passageway, along with a somewhat ‎laconic report on the progress of Operation Northern Shield saying that ‎the effort to neutralize the tunnel threat was nearing its end.‎

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot and GOC Northern Command ‎Maj. Gen. Yoel Strick briefed the ministers on the operation’s progress, ‎underscoring the fact that the IDF has effectively deprived Hezbollah of ‎a unique, strategic asset that would have allowed it to mark significant ‎gains in the next conflict: psychologically, knowing that active Hezbollah ‎tunnels run under Israeli communities adjacent to the northern border ‎could have potentially caused public panic in the sector; but worse, ‎operationally, these tunnels would have allowed the Shiite terrorist ‎group to potentially use a brutal tactical gambit to declare war on Israel ‎‎– as they would have allowed them to overrun one of the communities ‎and abduct or murder numerous Israelis. ‎

Eizenkot and Strick made it clear to the ministers that Hezbollah may be ‎down – but it is by no means out and that, having lost its tunnel ‎enterprise, it will undoubtedly turn its attention to devising new ways ‎with which to challenge Israel in the next war.‎

It is unclear to what extent this information troubled the ministers, if at ‎all. They were familiar with the tunnel threat and authorized the ‎operation to destroy them, but on Tuesday – a day after snap elections‎were called and set for April 19 and a day before the vote on the ‎dissolution of the 20th Knesset – they were likely far more preoccupied ‎with politics. ‎

Reporters who were invited to join the tour couldn’t help but notice the ‎unofficial game of musical chairs that saw the ministers compete for who ‎got to sit the closest to Netanyahu during the briefing and who got to ‎stand right next to him in the various photo-ops. ‎

These scenes were obscured by the political firestorm of recent days, but ‎they were enough to put the IDF on alert: In any election campaign, the ‎military is wary of being used as a political tool. Base and border tours ‎and visiting soldiers in the various sectors are classic photo-ops for any ‎politician, and given the tensions simmering on all sectors, there is no ‎shortage of such opportunities. Given that the new chief of staff, Aviv ‎Kochavi, is slated to assume his duties in 18 days, the IDF’s efforts to ‎keep itself out of the political game will be even more challenging, ‎especially at a time when there are plenty of reasons for meetings with ‎the political echelon.‎

The alleged Israeli strike in Syria, which according to foreign media ‎reports targeted several ‎Hezbollah ‎leaders as well as Iranian ‎ammunition ‎‎depots near ‎Damascus, is sure to also be linked to the elections, but it is ‎important to clarify that that is not the case. ‎

Operations of this kind usually require rapid planning, meaning they are ‎formulated from the ground up: Military Intelligence often makes its ‎determinations in real-time and relays it to the chief of staff, who has to ‎greenlight a plan of action, which is prepared while the political echelon ‎is briefed on the matter and is required to approve it. ‎

This is a ritual in which the IDF is well-versed, and the government ‎almost always backs the proposed operational plans. This is a familiar, ‎intimate dance between the military and governing echelons and it is ‎devoid of any political cynicism. ‎

The Israeli public knows only about the end part of this process. Were ‎more of it made public, the arguments accusing the military of holding ‎back on its use of force would subside. Contrary to the Israeli take on ‎things, the sides taking the blows – Syria, Hezbollah and Iran – think ‎Israel is borderline “crazy” and Russia has even gone on the record as ‎saying that the “Israeli aggression must be restrained.” ‎

This week’s strike took place against the backdrop of these familiar elements, but this was ‎not “just” another strike of an Iranian weapons convoy en route to ‎Hezbollah. The technical details, namely the nature of the target and the ‎method of attack, were perhaps routine – as far as a raid of this nature ‎could be routine – but all the rest was unusual. Israel used it to make it ‎clear, in no uncertain terms, that it was serious when it said it would take ‎action to maintain its security interests, regardless of any foreign actor’s presence in the Middle East. ‎

This message was intended for many ears, not just the obvious ones in ‎Tehran, Damascus, and Beirut, but mainly those in Moscow and ‎Washington. ‎

U.S. President Trump’s decision to withdraw American troops from Syria ‎met a mix of surprise, disappointment and concern in Israel, as while the ‎Americans did not protect our security interest directly, their presence in ‎Syria was enough to cool the engines of the Iranian-Syrian axis, and it ‎provided a crucial balance to the overt Russian belligerence.‎

The feeling in Jerusalem was that Israel was “left on its own,” which is not ‎the end of the world, but it certainly makes for a very complex and ‎volatile situation. ‎

Russia is no longer willing to turn a blind eye to Israeli raids, not because ‎it is rooting for Iran, but because it needs and wants calm on the ground ‎so it can enjoy the fruits of Syria’s economic rehabilitation. As far as ‎Moscow is concerned, the equation is simple: more raids equal a ‎regional mess, which in turn means less money. ‎

Since the ‎Sept. 17 incident in which a Russian reconnaissance ‎plane was ‎downed by Syrian aid defenses responding to an Israeli airstrike, Israel has ‎spared no effort to improve its relations with Russia, and while the ‎Kremlin has been anything but warm and fuzzy, it has made it a point to ‎maintain the deconfliction channel set up between the IDF and the ‎Russian forces in Syria. Still, while Israel has been able to maintain some ‎operational leeway, it has substantially narrowed. ‎

Russia did not spare Israel its criticism over Wednesday’s raid. Some of ‎this was meant for Syria’s ears, as Damascus must be wondering why ‎Moscow doesn’t simply order Israel to halt all strikes, and for Israel’s ‎ears, as the Kremlin believes the IDF is exercising excessive force. For whatever ‎reason, Russia refrains from doing the simple and obvious thing of all – ‎preventing Iranian activity – which is the source of all evil, in Syria. ‎

Military Intelligence assessment of 2019 states that the likelihood of war ‎in the northern sector remains low: Syria has no interest in one and ‎neither does Iran or Hezbollah, certainly after the group’s tunnel project ‎has been destroyed. But the area remains a tinderbox and the slightest ‎spark could ignite it and drag all parties into a conflict no one desires. ‎

The likelihood of war will further increase if Hezbollah accelerates the ‎development of its precision-missile program on Lebanese soil. Israel will ‎continue with its public diplomacy and diplomatic campaign, as it has ‎done in recent months, but it may find that military moves are ‎unavoidable, regardless of their inherent risk. This is a likely scenario ‎with which cabinet ministers are familiar. It will require military ‎preparation, which takes place routinely, but also preparations in terms ‎of domestic and international legitimacy. ‎

This has many implications, two of which are especially important during ‎this period: first, the need to leave no stone unturned in order to reach ‎understandings with Russia, and second, fostering public confidence – ‎not an easy task during election time, when every statement is ‎perceived as part of a political campaign. ‎

The key to success on both fronts is a clean and practical process focused ‎on leaving the IDF and the decision-making process outside the election ‎campaign.‎

 

Categories: Uncategorized

Comments: Be the first to comment

Is Trump following in Obama’s footsteps?

December 28, 2018

Source: Is Trump following in Obama’s footsteps? – Israel Hayom

Rachel Avraham

U.S. President Donald Trump is known to loathe former President Barack Obama. When Trump was running for president, he labeled Obama “the founder of ISIS” due to his premature withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 that led to the rise of the murderous terror group.

He also labeled Obama’s Iran deal “the worst deal ever” and since he was elected, he not only ripped the Iran deal apart but also re-imposed sanctions against the Iranian regime and has given moral support to Iranian protesters who are seeking to overthrow the mullah’s government, all in stark contrast to his predecessor.

When Trump was elected president, after the free world dealt with Neville Chamberlain-like appeasement under Obama for eight years, many had high hopes that America finally had a Churchill in the White House.  Indeed, for a while, it appeared on the surface that America finally had a president who understood the dangers posed by the Iranian regime and was willing to take a stand against the mullahs.

But now, just as the Iranian regime is beginning to feel the full effect of the sanctions imposed against it, is Trump backtracking from Churchill’s path and is instead following in the footsteps of his predecessor by handing Syria over on a silver platter to Iran and Turkey? Was the U.S. withdrawal from Syria a grand betrayal of America’s allies who fought against ISIS, as U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis indicated in his resignation letter? Or is the U.S. withdrawal from Syria part of some greater strategy against the Iranian regime, as some analysts have indicated?

While it appears that all of America’s Middle Eastern allies are likely to suffer as a result of America’s withdrawal from Syria, Iranian political analyst Dr. Reza Parchizadeh believes thatTrump may have some surprises in store for us all. Trump and his top foreign policy advisers are very much aware of the consequences should the United States unconditionally withdraw from the Middle East. Given this, he says that we should not be deceived by appearances. He does not think that at this point, Trump will relent on Iran: “His administration has already invested too much in the Iranian portfolio to want to give it up now.”

Salah Bayaziddi, the U.S. representative of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, concurs with Parchizadeh. While he believes that a full U.S. withdrawal from Syria poses a security risk to America’s allies in the Middle East, he still thinks it is too soon to foretell how Trump’s new policy will play out. Furthermore, he adds: “The U.S. has enough leverage and capabilities to control and protect its interests in Syria even without a massive military presence if still the main strategy is to curb and finish off the Iranian regime in the region.”

On the other hand, Trump is unpredictable and there have been reports that he plans to let Turkey take over the struggle against what remains of ISIS. In fact, Turkish-backed fighters in Syria are already gearing up to replace the U.S. in the region. Therefore, Trump’s announcement not only threatens the anti-ISIS struggle due to Erdogan’s track record of enabling ISIS to thrive but also risks further emboldening the Iranian regime.

Syrian Kurdish dissident Sherkoh Abbas claims that by enabling Turkey and Iran to take over all of Syria, Trump is undoing all of the good that he did by tearing up Obama’s Iran deal: “Now, with this announcement, it will be easier for Iran to bypass sanctions. All of the ports of Syria and oil resources are at their disposal. They control Iraq and Lebanon as well. They can export anything that they want via them. They also have some understandings with Turkey and Russia that they can work to move America and the Kurds from the region.” According to Abbas, due to the understandings reached between Turkey and Iran, handing over an area to Turkey will also embolden Iran, enabling them to have a contiguous “Shia crescent” from Tehran to the Mediterranean Sea.

Already, Trump has allowed Turkey to take over Afrin and now, it looks like he will permit it to take over the rest of Syrian Kurdistan. Abbas claims that this will adversely affect the fight against ISIS: “Look at Afrin. The area used to be majority Kurdish. It is only 30% Kurdish now. The Turks got Eastern Euphrates, Kobane, Afrin, Kurdish Mountain, etc. as Islamist centers. Turkey will now be allowed to have pockets in northern Syria. That allows them to Arabize the region. The Kurds of Syria will have no viability for they will be forced to run away and will be destroyed. The area will be populated by ISIS groups and will be rebranded under a name appealing to Trump.”

Mendi Safadi, who heads the Safadi Center for International Diplomacy, Research, Public Relations and Human Rights, claims that Trump’s decision to withdraw was premature and that it is not a tactic that ensures security in the region for America’s allies. The decision to withdraw added to Israel’s strategic difficulties, and the Kurds can expect to be ethnically cleansed from the area; the American withdrawal enables “the destruction of the Kurdish dream.” According to Safadi, “The fighting in Syria is far from ending and is even expected to be worse than in the past. The Turks and the Iranians have an open wound with the Kurds who ask to be independent and will take advantage of the opportunity.” He claims that this “makes the challenges ahead even more difficult than the Yom Kippur War.”

Finally, according to Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut, should Trump follow through with his decision to unconditionally withdraw from Syria entirely, he will be following in the footsteps of former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, whose pre-World War II foreign policy made his name synonymous with appeasement – exactly as Obama did.

Rachel Avraham is the president of the Dona Gracia Mendes Nasi Center for Human Rights and a political analyst at the Safadi Center for International Diplomacy, Research and Public Relations.

 

Categories: Uncategorized

Comments: Be the first to comment

Hezbollah races to save terror tunnels as IDF floods them

December 28, 2018

Source: Hezbollah races to save terror tunnels as IDF floods them

sraeli military fills underground terror constructions near Metula with water and cement in order to expose entry shafts dug from residential homes in Lebanese villages, and to eliminate possibility of Shi’ite terror group salvaging what’s left of their strategic assets.
Yoav Zitun, Ahiya Raved|Published:  12.27.18 , 19:23

The IDF flooded with cement and water the Hezbollah tunnels, which appear to have been dug from residential houses in Lebanese villages, as the Shi’ite terror group scrambles to salvage what’s left of their strategic assets.At the beginning of the month, the IDF launched Operation Northern Shield to expose and neutralize terror tunnels Hezbollah has constructed along the Israel-Lebanon border since 2006, and so far five underground constructions have been destroyed by the Israeli military.

The tunnels near the northern city of Metula were deliberately filled with large quantities of water and construction substances such as cement and bentonite, in order to not only eliminate the possibility of them being at least partially saved by Hezbollah, but to also cause flooding and expose the Lebanese villages from which the constructions originate.

Residental homes on Lebanese border from which tunnels originated (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Residental homes on Lebanese border from which tunnels originated (Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

Shortly after the IDF operation was launched, Lebanese media aired footageshowing a concrete block factory that was set up by Hezbollah along the border meant to conceal the entry shafts to the terror tunnels, which sources in the IDF initially described as a “surprise.”

“The methods which we use to neutralize the tunnels vary depending on their size, shape and surroundings. If the best way to neutralize a specific tunnel would result in the destruction of houses on the other side of the border, we still have to do it. The responsibility is 100% on us, not on UNIFIL or the Lebanese army,” said one IDF officer.

After the tunnels were flooded, it became clear that tunnels excavated from the village of Kila—only two kilometres from Metula—had several openings which seemed to have been dug from inside residential homes.

Tunnels excavated from the village of Kila (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Tunnels excavated from the village of Kila (Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

The IDF Spokesperson Ronen Manelis warned Hezbollah that the IDF could fill the tunnels with substances much more hazardous than cement or water.

“We’ve warned the residents on the Lebanese side of the border that they endanger their lives by allowing for these tunnels to be dug from their homes.”

“The operation is not over yet,” added Manelis. “We haven’t seen either UNIFIL or the Lebanese army operating against the tunnels, even though we’ve presented them with the evidence.”

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit also clarified the two tunnels exposed by the Israeli military last week, which originated from the Lebanese border towns of Ramyah and Ayta ash Shab, were destroyed in its entirety by a controlled explosion carried out by the army.

 

Categories: Uncategorized

Comments: Be the first to comment

US confirms Pompeo and Netanyahu to meet in Brazil 

December 28, 2018

Source: US confirms Pompeo and Netanyahu to meet in Brazil | The Times of Israel

Israeli leader to hold talks with top diplomat weeks after Trump decision to pull out of Syria, putting Jerusalem at odds with Washington

By AFPToday, 1:32 am
 In this file photo taken on December 13, 2018 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the press at the State Department in Washington, DC. (NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP)
In this file photo taken on December 13, 2018 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the press at the State Department in Washington, DC. (NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP)

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet next week in Brazil with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Washington prepares to withdraw troops from Syria, the State Department said Thursday.

Pompeo and Netanyahu will meet in Brasilia where both will be attending the New Year’s Day inauguration of president-elect Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing firebrand who has vowed to move Brazil closer to Israel and US President Donald Trump.

The State Department and Netanyahu’s office have not offered details about the planned meeting.

Netanyahu has met frequently with Pompeo and enjoys a warm relationship with Trump, happy about his withdrawal from a denuclearization deal with Iran and his landmark shift of the US embassy to Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) meets US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the UN in New York on September 26, 2018 (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

But Netanyahu has for the first time found himself at odds with Trump after the US leader’s sudden announcement last week that he will bring home all 2,000 American troops from war-ravaged Syria, where Israel saw Washington’s presence as a bulwark against Iran and counterweight to the influence of Russia.

Israel has been measured in its public response, saying it respects Trump’s decision, which led to the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria that it says are targeting Iranian forces and their Hezbollah allies.

Trump has said that US troops were solely focused on fighting the Islamic State jihadist group, which he has declared to be “largely defeated.”

Pompeo will also meet in Brazil with Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra and afterward fly to Cartagena to hold talks with Colombian President Ivan Duque.

 

Categories: Uncategorized

Comments: Be the first to comment

Ahead of Netanyahu visit, incoming Brazilian leader blasts Israel critics

December 28, 2018

Source: Ahead of Netanyahu visit, incoming Brazilian leader blasts Israel critics | The Times of Israel

Jair Bolsonaro lauds importance of Israeli tech, says those criticizing talks with Jerusalem on deepening bilateral relationship ‘do nothing, only destroy and steal’

By RAPHAEL AHREN and TOI STAFFToday, 4:05 am
Brazil's president-elect Jair Bolsonaro, center, poses for photos during a lunch with popular singers who supported his campaign, at the Army Club, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. (AP/Eraldo Peres)

Brazil’s president-elect Jair Bolsonaro, center, poses for photos during a lunch with popular singers who supported his campaign, at the Army Club, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. (AP/Eraldo Peres)

Brazil’s incoming president Jair Bolsonaro pushed back against critics and feted burgeoning ties with Israel Thursday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his way to Brasilia for the new leader’s swearing in.

Jair Bolsonaro said those who were protesting his drive to develop deeper ties with Israel had done nothing to help Latin America’s biggest country.

“There is no reason to criticize dialogue, especially when the criticism comes from those who did nothing, only destroyed and stole from the country,” Bolsonaro said on Twitter.

He said Brazil was interested in technological services that Israel is a world leader in, likely referring to agritech and cyber security.

“We want the best for Brazil,” he wrote.

The comments came shortly after Netanyahu played up potential ties with Brasilia as he boarded a plane for Rio de Janiero to attend Bolsonaro’s inauguration next week.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in the Knesset plenum for a vote on a bill to dissolve parliament, in Jerusalem on December 26, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

“I’m glad that we can open a new era in Israel’s relationship with this superpower,” he said, describing Brazil as “a vast nation that represents vast potential for Israel, including in the economic, security and diplomatic realms.”

He said Bolsonaro was heralding “profound changes” in bilateral ties.

Bolsonaro said Thursday he was looking forward to talks with Netanyahu to discuss expanding ties, calling it an “unprecedented moment of our history.”

Bolsonaro’s strong support of Israel won him praise from the country’s large evangelical population. But the strongman has also been criticized over his vow to move his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and to close the Palestinian embassy in Brasilia.

His election is seen as marking a hard-right shift for the country, which has traditionally maintained positive relationships with the Palestinians.

In 2010, Brazil was the first South American country to recognize a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders.

Demonstrators light flares and hold Palestinians flags as they protest against clashes in Gaza and the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (AP/Andre Penner)

The Arab and Muslim world has warned Bolsonaro that a possible move of the Brazilian embassy to Jerusalem would negatively affect commercial ties. Brazil is among the largest exporters of halal meat to the Arab world, and exporters have reportedly lobbied Bolsonaro not to move the embassy and risk harming the industry.

Netanyahu is expected to land in Rio de Janeiro Friday, where he will hold meetings with Bolsonaro, Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva and Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo.

On Monday, he is scheduled to fly to the capital, Brasilia for several events at the Presidential Palace, the Foreign Ministry Palace, and at the National Congress surrounding the inauguration.

Earlier this week, sources in Netanyahu’s office told Hebrew-language media outlets that he is considering cutting his trip short due to the political developments in Israel. But on Wednesday evening, after the Knesset voted to disband and hold early elections in April, the prime minister decided to go ahead with the original travel plan.

“Bolsonaro’s election marks a new era in Israel-Brazil relations and he fully intends to strengthen this relationship on all levels — political and economic — throughout his tenure,” Leah Soibel, the founder and CEO of Fuenta Latina, a Jerusalem-based nonprofit seeking to improve ties between Latin America and the Jewish state, told The Times of Israel this week.

“To illustrate just how important this trip to Brazil is, Netanyahu is still pressing ahead with it despite all of the challenges he faces at home,” she said. “The fact that he didn’t cancel it speaks volumes.”

Supporters of far-right lawmaker and presidential candidate for the Social Liberal Party, Jair Bolsonaro, celebrate in Rio de Janeiro, after the former army captain won Brazil’s presidential election, on October 28, 2018. (CARL DE SOUZA / AFP)

Netanyahu, who also serves as foreign minister, last year made the first trip by a sitting Israeli prime minister to Latin America, visiting Argentina, Colombia and Mexico.

He has sought to expand Israel’s diplomatic reach through technology and defence exports, and has worked to persuade more countries to vote in his country’s favour at the United Nations, where it faces frequent criticism over its treatment of the Palestinians.

“Step by step, methodically and persistently, we are turning Israel into a rising global power,” he told his cabinet Sunday.

“Brazil is a huge market, almost 250 million people; the opening of this gigantic market will create new jobs in Israel and will greatly help the Israeli economy,” he added.

Brazilian Jews wave Brazilian and Israeli flags and take part in chants supporting Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square on OCtober 27, 2018, ahead of Brazil’s upcoming presidential elections. (Screen capture: Channel 20)

Even before Bolsonaro’s election in October, trade ties between the countries had been picking up for years. In March, Israeli Science Minister Ofer Akunis traveled to Brazil to work on trade agreements, with bilateral trade already surpassing $1 billion annually.

“Israel is strong in technology, but we are not growing coffee or producing meat,” Israeli Ambassador Yossi Shelley told The Brazilian Report at the time. “And now, those things are being brought here in good quantities. It’s a win-win.”

Brazil is also among Israel’s largest buyers of defense equipment. Last year, a Brazilian subsidiary of Elbit Systems Ltd., Israel’s largest non-government-owned defense company, signed a $100 million framework contract to supply the Brazilian army with remote-controlled weapon stations.

 

Categories: Uncategorized

Comments: Be the first to comment