TURKEY CHANGES ISRAEL ON SYRIA

Thursday, October 15

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the canceled
planned joint military drill with Israel to protest against Israeli
air strikes on the Gaza Strip earlier this year. Prime Minisiter said
the government had listened to the voice of the Turkish people when
it decided to cancel the military exercise "Anatolian Eagle".

This announcement coincided with another statement: Turkey and Syria
sign strategic partnership. Besides, the two countries signed an
agreement on visa-free entry on October 13.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry declares openness to boost bilateral ties
in all possible fields, including military, economy, and energy.

Since Israel and Syria are countries in war, some analysts interpreted
these developments as an attack on Israel.

Israel's media link the canceled joint military drill with some delay
in drone delivery. Recall that Turkey and Israel signed a multi-million
dollar military deal four years ago, under which Israeli Aerospace
Industries and Elbit Systems, Ltd. were obliged to equip the Turkish
military with ten surveillance drones by October 2009.

According to Israeli Valla edition this closing-in also calls into
question weapon equipping to Turkey in general.