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OFFICIAL: TURKISH TIRADES REVEAL 'BRAZEN HYPOCRISY'
By HERB KEINON
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=302160
02/05/2013 04:24
Israeli official says Turkey's leaders have become "laughingstock of
the international community with their self-righteous discourse."
Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Greece Photo: REUTERS
Turkey's leaders have become the "laughingstock of the international
community with their self-righteous discourse," an Israeli official
said on Monday in response to yet another anti- Israel tirade by
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
Turkey's anti-Israel bashing continued unabated for a third-straight
day on Monday, with Davutoglu thrashing Israel for its settlements
policy and declaring that Israel was now a "pariah state."
The Turkish foreign minister, addressing a ministerial meeting of
the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Cairo, said that
"Israel has now been rendered by the international community a 'pariah'
status for its expanding illegal settlements."
Referring to the recent United Nations Human Rights Council report
calling on Israel to evacuate all settlements, Davutoglu said,
"Time and again Israel has proven that it fails to read the change
happening not only around it, but also in the way its actions are
perceived by the international community."
The Israeli official dismissed the Turkish foreign minister's comments
as "brazen hypocrisy."
"It is rather quaint to be lectured about settlements from the
representative of a country which has ethnically cleansed the northern
part of Cyprus and illegally settled 200,000 Turks in that territory,"
he said.
The recent high-profile spate of Turkish Israel-bashing began Saturday
with Davutoglu publicly chiding Syria for not responding to Israel's
purported operation in Syria, and Erdogan on Sunday saying Israel has
"a mentality of waging state terrorism."
"Turkey's double standard" has reached new heights, the Israeli
official said of the Turkish condemnation, noting that Ankara has
repeatedly carried out military action in Iraqi and Syrian territory,
is involved in the continued occupation of Cyprus and is "brutally
muzzling journalists who dare to displease the powers that be."
Iran, meanwhile, ratcheted up its bellicose rhetoric following the
alleged action in Syria, saying Israel would rue its air strikes.
"They will regret this recent aggression," Saeed Jalili, Secretary of
Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told a news conference in
Damascus a day after holding talks there with President Bashar Assad.
One Israeli official in the Prime Minister's Office responded to the
threats by saying that Israel had no illusions "about Iranian hostile
intentions, and they don't need an excuse to target Israel."
Jalili likened Israel's attack to previous conflicts, including the
34-day Second Lebanon War in 2006, all battles that he said Israel
had lived to regret.
"Today, too, both the people and the government of Syria are serious
regarding the issue. And also the Islamic community is supporting
Syria," he said.
Jalili said Iran, in its current role as head of the Non- Aligned
Movement, would work on Syria's behalf on the international stage in
response to the attack.
The New York Times on Monday, citing American officials sorting through
intelligence reports, said SA-17 Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles
and their launchers on transport trucks were hit in Wednesday's raid,
as well as the country's main research center for work on chemical
and biological weapons.
The center, the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center, is -
according to the report - a training site for engineers working on
chemical and biological weapons and is part of a military complex
protected by Russian anti-aircraft defense systems.
Reuters contributed to this report.
By HERB KEINON
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=302160
02/05/2013 04:24
Israeli official says Turkey's leaders have become "laughingstock of
the international community with their self-righteous discourse."
Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Greece Photo: REUTERS
Turkey's leaders have become the "laughingstock of the international
community with their self-righteous discourse," an Israeli official
said on Monday in response to yet another anti- Israel tirade by
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
Turkey's anti-Israel bashing continued unabated for a third-straight
day on Monday, with Davutoglu thrashing Israel for its settlements
policy and declaring that Israel was now a "pariah state."
The Turkish foreign minister, addressing a ministerial meeting of
the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Cairo, said that
"Israel has now been rendered by the international community a 'pariah'
status for its expanding illegal settlements."
Referring to the recent United Nations Human Rights Council report
calling on Israel to evacuate all settlements, Davutoglu said,
"Time and again Israel has proven that it fails to read the change
happening not only around it, but also in the way its actions are
perceived by the international community."
The Israeli official dismissed the Turkish foreign minister's comments
as "brazen hypocrisy."
"It is rather quaint to be lectured about settlements from the
representative of a country which has ethnically cleansed the northern
part of Cyprus and illegally settled 200,000 Turks in that territory,"
he said.
The recent high-profile spate of Turkish Israel-bashing began Saturday
with Davutoglu publicly chiding Syria for not responding to Israel's
purported operation in Syria, and Erdogan on Sunday saying Israel has
"a mentality of waging state terrorism."
"Turkey's double standard" has reached new heights, the Israeli
official said of the Turkish condemnation, noting that Ankara has
repeatedly carried out military action in Iraqi and Syrian territory,
is involved in the continued occupation of Cyprus and is "brutally
muzzling journalists who dare to displease the powers that be."
Iran, meanwhile, ratcheted up its bellicose rhetoric following the
alleged action in Syria, saying Israel would rue its air strikes.
"They will regret this recent aggression," Saeed Jalili, Secretary of
Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told a news conference in
Damascus a day after holding talks there with President Bashar Assad.
One Israeli official in the Prime Minister's Office responded to the
threats by saying that Israel had no illusions "about Iranian hostile
intentions, and they don't need an excuse to target Israel."
Jalili likened Israel's attack to previous conflicts, including the
34-day Second Lebanon War in 2006, all battles that he said Israel
had lived to regret.
"Today, too, both the people and the government of Syria are serious
regarding the issue. And also the Islamic community is supporting
Syria," he said.
Jalili said Iran, in its current role as head of the Non- Aligned
Movement, would work on Syria's behalf on the international stage in
response to the attack.
The New York Times on Monday, citing American officials sorting through
intelligence reports, said SA-17 Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles
and their launchers on transport trucks were hit in Wednesday's raid,
as well as the country's main research center for work on chemical
and biological weapons.
The center, the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center, is -
according to the report - a training site for engineers working on
chemical and biological weapons and is part of a military complex
protected by Russian anti-aircraft defense systems.
Reuters contributed to this report.