Israeli jets were reported flying over Damascus by foreign sources in the last few hours Sunday (April 28). debkafile: Iran is pushing Bashar Assad hard to let Hizballah have sophisticated weapons, including self-propelled SA-17 interceptor missile systems.

The Turkish-Israeli reconciliation effected by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s apology was urged strongly by US President Barack Obama, because Ankara urgently needed to revive the military cooperation it cut off with Israel in 2010. debkafile:  Without access to Israeli military technology, Turkey’s armed forces are hamstrung. And without full Israeli, Turkish and Jordanian coordination, Obama’s plan for a joint US-led command center against a Syrian chemical warfare contingency can’t take off. But the apology also went down as a gratuous affront to Israeli military pride.

US military officials said Wednesday, March 7, that President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu broke away from their dispute over an attack on Iran on March 5 for a serious discussion of the Syrian crisis and Bashar Assad's, hundreds of surface-to-surface missiles armed with chemical and biological warheads. Because this peril has risen to the top of America’s chart of the threats looming over Israel and Turkey, Obama advised Netanyahu to hurry up and mend ties with Ankara.  

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan applied the brakes to the process of reconciliation with Israel when he learned Wednesday, July 6, that the UN inquiry commission into last year's Turkish-led flotilla had ruled Israel's naval blockade on Gaza legal. Eight Turks and a Turkish-American were killed in a clash with Israeli commandos who boarded the Mavi Marmora. The UN ruling meant that Israel was within its rights and the Turkish vessel's attempt to break the blockade was illegal. 

Israel has not yet recovered its equilibrium from the falling-out with Turkey - which permits its prime minister Recep Erdogan to successfully pursue his campaign against Jerusalem.

Before leaving for the G20 summit in Toronto, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan came in for an exceptionally acerbic US rebuke: Top Obama official Philip Gordon accused him of alienating the US and the West and told him he needed to demonstrate Ankara's commitment to their (NATO) partnership.
At home, his generals and the public accuse him of sacrificing national security to his anti-Israel campaign, so causing military setbacks against the Kurdish PKK.

After losing its "only Middle East ally", Israel and Greece are heading for an advantageous strategic partnership. Prime Minister Papandreou hopes for help in overcoming Greece's economic crisis and upgrading his armed forces.

Ankara undertakes to prevent Israeli warplanes will not use Turkey airspace to attack Iran, Syria and their allies. After breaking off its military ties with Israel, Ankara is turning to Moscow for sophisticated hardware and away from the West. Moscow's price tag may include strategic assets in the Caucasus and ...

Turkey will lead a campaign for a worldwide boycott of Israel. Wednesday, Ankara cancelled 16 contracts covering military and intelligence cooperation.

Israel has countered by declaring the IHH a terrorist entity, exposing this bulwark of the Ankara government to Israeli covert operations. In Washington, Democratic and Republican members of Congress announced there would be a price to pay for Ankara's continuing hate campaign against Israel and tight ties with Tehran.

The USS Harry S. Truman carrier Strike Group of 60 warplanes and 6,000 seamen has turned course from the Persian Gulf and deployed in the Mediterranean within easy reach of potential flare-ups, debkafile's military and Washington sources report. Ankara's determination to break the Gaza siege by force was backed up Wednesday, June 16, by Iran's parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, who threatened to retaliate against Persian Gulf and Mediterranean shipping for any interference with Iranian Gaza-bound vessels.

Israel blinded itself to the changing winds in Ankara after pro-Islamic Recep Erdogan succeeded in gaining control of Turkey's armed forces. This enabled Turkish intelligence to lay a trap for Israel.

The Turkish leader is sinking millions of dollars to build a large new flotilla for blowing Israel's blockade sky high and tightening the international diplomatic siege around Israel.

Five planes flew out of Israel Wednesday night, June 2, carrying hundreds of foreign passengers and nine bodies from the Turkish-led flotilla Israeli commandos raided and prevented from breaking the Gaza blockade two days ago. After surrendering to Turkey's ultimatum to release all the passengers, including the seven members of Islamist terrorist groups who assaulted the Israeli boarding party, debkafile reports the Netanyahu government faced a fresh ultimatum from Ankara: Lift the Gaza blockade now.