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World
April 29 - May 5, 2013
US, Israel clinch massive weapons deal
TEL AVIV, Israel – Pentagon
chief Chuck Hagel and his
Israeli counterpart on April
22 hailed a major arms deal
as a sign of “ironclad” US
support for the Jewish state
after talks on Iran’s nuclear
drive and Syria’s war.
The US defence secretary,
who has been accused of
being too critical of Israel,
sought to convey a message
of solidarity on his first visit
to the region since he took
office two months ago.
Speaking at a joint news
conference with Defence
Minister Moshe Yaalon in
Tel Aviv, Hagel confirmed
the two had agreed on a
multi-billion dollar weapons
deal that will see Israel
receiving an impressive
array of advanced US
missiles and aircraft.
“Today we took another
significant step in the US-
Israel defence relationship,”
Hagel said, reiterating
Washington’s “ironclad
pledge” to ensure Israel’s
military edge in a region
rocked by turmoil.
“Minister Yaalon and
I agreed that the United
States will make available
to Israel a set of advanced
new military capabilities,”
including anti-radiation
missiles, radars for fighter
jets, KC-135 refuelling
aircraft, and the V-22
Osprey, which the United
States has not released to
other countries, he said.
Yaalon admitted Israel
had already “acted” to stop
advanced weapons from
falling into militant hands,
in what was seen as implicit
confirmation of Israeli
involvement in a strike on
an arms convoy inside Syria
in January.
He said Israel had laid
down three “very clear red
lines” for the regime of
Syrian President Bashar al-
Assad, the first of which was
“not to allow sophisticated
weapons to be delivered or
be taken by... Hezbollah or
other rogue elements.”
The US defence secretary
Iraqi president fears
‘sectarian civil war’
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki
warned on April 25 of a
return to “sectarian civil
war” as 179 people were
killed over three days.
Maliki called for people “to
take the initiative and not
be silent about those who
want to take the country
back to sectarian civil war,”
in remarks broadcast on
state television.
The violence erupted
on April 23 when security
forces moved against antigovernment
protesters near
the Sunni Muslim town of
Hawijah in northern Iraq,
sparking clashes that left
53 people dead.
A wave of subsequent
unrest, much of it apparently
revenge attacks for the
Hawijah clashes, killed
dozens more people and
brought the toll by April 25 to
179 dead and 286 wounded.
The protest-related
violence is the deadliest so
far linked to demonstrations
that broke out in Sunni
areas of the Shiite-majority
country more than four
months ago.
The protesters have called
for the resignation of Maliki,
a Shiite, and railed against
authorities for allegedly
targeting their community,
including with what they
say are wrongful detentions
and anti-terrorism charges.
The military said the
operation in Hawijah that
sparked the clashes was
aimed at the Naqshbandiya
Army, which it said had
infiltrated the ranks of the
anti-government protesters.
Two leaders of the
Hawijah protest said on
April 25 they would form a
wing of the Naqshbandiya
Army in response to the
April 23 killings.
“We will take revenge for
the massacre of Hawijah,”
protest spokesman Hamed
al-Juburi said. – AFP
said he had had “clear, direct
conversations” with Yaalon
that covered the threat
posed by Iran’s nuclear
program, which Washington
and much of the West believe
is a drive for a weapons
capability, but which the
Islamic republic denies.
At a meeting on April
22 between Hagel and
Shimon Peres, the Israeli
president said “your visit
sends a message that you’re
determined not to let Iran
become nuclear.
“I have full trust in your
position,” he said, adding
that diplomacy in dealing
with Iran was “better but if
diplomacy won’t be enough
then all options are on the
table.”
US-Israeli relations have
been strained over how to
address the Iranian threat
but Hagel had insisted there
was no major disagreement
on the issue.
Before arriving in Israel
on April 21 at the start of a
six-day regional tour, Hagel
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel is welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu (left) at his office in Jerusalem on April 23. Pic: AFP
had said the arms deal sent a
“very clear signal” to Tehran
that military action remains
an option to stop it from
obtaining nuclear weapons.
Israel, believed to be
the Middle East’s sole if
undeclared nuclear power,
has refused to rule out a
pre-emptive military strike
on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Hagel said on April 22 that
“every sovereign nation has
a right to defend itself”.
– AFP
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