Israel Update for January 2010

Turkish officials initially rejected the apology, terming it insufficient. A second, stronger letter of contrition was then delivered to the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv, which was accepted by Ankara. However Turkish media outlets continued to blast Israel in harsh terms, which analysts said reflected the growing anti-Israel attitude of the country's mostly Muslim citizens.

Threat Of Arrest

Meanwhile a Turkish human rights organization filed a motion in the country's courts to have Ehud Barak arrested when he visited Ankara. The group wanted him detained and tried as a war criminal. Despite the threat, Barak carried on with plans to travel to Turkey, arriving there on January 17. Afterwards he said Turkish leaders do want to keep up their alliance with Israel. However he also admitted that relations are very strained and will probably never return to the high level of military and diplomatic cooperation that was present in previous years. Analysts noted that Erdogan was noticeably absent from any public appearance with the visiting Defense Minister.

The petition to have Barak arrested in Turkey came after similar threats arose during the past few months in Britain and a few other European countries against Barak and several other Israeli government and military leaders, including former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. The threats prompted Livni and several others to cancel planned visits to London and elsewhere.

As the diplomatic crisis was escalating with Ankara, tourism officials announced that Israelis were cutting back sharply on vacation visits to Turkey, which had been a very popular and inexpensive destination over the past 20 years. Statistics showed that visits were down by 44% in 2009. Officials said that while some of the falloff might have been due to the economic meltdown slowing tourism worldwide, it was mostly because of the anti-Israel statements coming on a regular basis from Ankara, and the country's budding ties with Iran.

In a related matter, the Tourism Ministry announced that 2.7 million foreigners visited Israel during 2009-the second highest total ever. This was despite the Gaza conflict which deflated tourism early in the year, and the worldwide economic crisis. Tourism Minister Stas Meseznikov said he hopes that around three million people will visit Israel this year. He added his ministry is preparing for an additional million extra tourists per year by 2012. He said this would boost Israel's economy, predicting that around 190,000 Israelis will be working in the tourism industry by that year.

Iran Behind Attack In Jordan

A two car Israeli diplomatic convoy traveling on the main road from the Jordanian capital back toward the Allenby bridge which crosses the Jordan river into Israel was attacked by a concealed roadside bomb on January 15. The explosion did not wound any of the Israeli passengers, but did leave a three foot crater near the road. It was the first time a roadside device was ever deployed in Jordan. Such attacks became routine in Lebanon before the Israeli military pullout in May 2000, and more recently in Iraq.

Jordanian officials immediately stated that the bombing was a well planned assault carried out by highly trained terrorists. Later reports in the Jordanian press said Iran had ordered and funded the attack, working closely with local Al Qaeda operatives. They added that the explosives used in the bombing were probably smuggled into Jordan by Iranian diplomats who are not subject to the usual security inspections others go through. Jordanian security officers arrested several suspects in Amman, while vowing to do everything possible to prevent future attacks.

Israeli leaders said they would order stepped up security measures at their embassy in Amman, which is already among the most heavily guarded buildings in the world. They also ordered additional security measures for all other overseas missions. This came amid what were termed "firm intelligence reports" that Iran and its Lebanese Hizbullah puppet force are planning to launch attacks on Israeli targets abroad to mark the second anniversary of the assassination of Hizbullah military leader Imad Mughniyeh in February 2007. He was killed by a car bomb while visiting Damascus. Hizbullah leaders blamed the incident on Israel and vowed to avenge his death.

War Coming With Lebanon And Syria?

Israeli military and political leaders expressed grave concern over Syrian media reports stating that officials in Damascus believe Israel is preparing for a springtime offensive against Hizbullah militia forces in Lebanon. According to the Syrian Al Watan newspaper, the Assad regime has hard intelligence indicating that a major IDF offensive is being planned for this coming May. The reports stated that Syrian leaders have vowed to enter any such conflict on Hizbullah's behalf. Reports said a call up of reserve Syrian soldiers began on January 23.

Prime Minister Netanyahu forcefully denied that any military action was being planned. However other members of his cabinet said a major clash with the heavily re-armed Lebanese force is inevitable at some point.

Meanwhile Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivered yet another anti-Israel diatribe on January 16, vowing to "change the face of the region" if another war breaks out with Israel. He claimed Lebanon was "facing the threats that you hear about today, adding that "if another war breaks out with the Zionists, we will defeat the enemy and achieve a great victory." The Shiite clerical leader averred that "Israel is in real trouble," and repeated earlier assertions that "a handful of resistance fighters and jihadists" bested the more powerful IDF during the 2006 Second Lebanon War. "

The Kuwaiti newspaper, Al Rai, quoted an unnamed American government official who said that Syria is training Hizbullah militiamen in the use of sophisticated anti-aircraft missile batteries which could bring down Israeli fighter aircraft. The official reportedly added that Israeli leaders have passed on messages to Damascus through third parties warning that if Syria allows Hizbullah to deploy SA-2 anti-aircraft batteries inside Lebanon, Damascus itself will be bombed and another major Middle East war will begin. However the official said he did not see such a war as likely given the stern Israeli warning, which will hopefully cause Syria to prevent such SA-2 systems to be moved into Hizbullah-controlled Lebanese territory.

With war clouds apparently gathering in the region yet again, Israelis welcomed the many rain clouds which also appeared during January-even if that resulted in some flooding. May Israel's Eternal King, the One with "the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day" (Ezekiel 1:28) also visit the Promised Land very soon!