Spy arrests show Hizbullah, Israel keeping wary eye on each other
Thursday, July 22, 2010
By: ICEJ News

News in Brief

Lebanon’s information minister Tareq Mitri told Al-Jazeera on Thursday that he will file an official complaint with the UN Security Council about Israeli "espionage" operations against its northern neighbor. More than 50 people have been arrested by Lebanese authorities as suspected Israeli spies since April 2009, and Hizbullah is reported to be deeply worried, with Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah hysterically complaining to reporters earlier this month that Israel has "complete control" over Lebanese telecommunications infrastructure. Most of the current focus has been on the Alfa cell-phone company, which Beirut fears has been totally infiltrated by Israeli intelligence, allowing Jerusalem to monitor not only conversations but movements by senior political and military figures through their mobile phone signals. Reports today indicate more suspected Israeli spies have fled Lebanon in recent days. Rasan al-Jud, a former senior officer in the Lebanese Army, is thought to have escaped to Germany by commercial plane. Security forces are looking for four other suspects who have disappeared. Meantime, Israel has also arrested several Israeli Arabs in the Galilee and Druze on the Golan on suspicions of spying for Hizbullah. The IDF also recently declassified extensive intelligence it has collected on Hizbullah positions and weapons caches in southern Lebanon, centered in the village of el-Khiam, in an attempt to deter Hizbullah from attacking by showing them how vulnerable they would be to an Israeli counterattack. In related news, the IDF has announced that it will soon conduct drills simulating the movement of soldiers and equipment under a massive rocket bombardment of roads and military bases such as they expect to suffer during a future conflict with Hizbullah and possibly Syria. “Hizbullah will likely allow the [Israeli] military force to reach its target point and then begin striking at the supply lines which the forces in the field will need to secure,” a senior IDF officer explained.

Israeli military selling more drones to Turkey despite political problems
Canada’s Air Force commander pays historic visit to Israel
Despite the souring of relations between Israel and Turkey since the May 31 Mavi Marmara flotilla incident, Israel still plans to honor a contract to send four 'Heron' drone airplanes to Turkey in August in what might be the last big military equipment sale between the two countries. Turkey needs the drones to fight a growing Kurdish insurgency in the Southeast of the country and despite Turkey recently unveiling its own domestically produced UAV, the Israeli aircraft are acknowledged to be the best available. In related news, Israeli Air Force officials are preparing to make their final decision about the purchase of a squadron of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter from American defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The move would make Israel the first customer for the F-35 outside the block of countries who have directly contributed in developing it and would put it at the front of the line to start receiving the aircraft as early as 2015, before Turkey and other Middle Eastern countries. The F-35 was among the topics of conversation between IAF chief Maj.- Gen. Ido Nehushtan and his Canadian counterpart, Lt.- Gen. Andre Deschamps, who arrived in Israel on Sunday for his first official visit following last week's announcement that Canada would buy 65 F-35 fighter jets in a deal that will cost over $6.5b. Canada also uses Israeli built Heron UAVs in Afghanistan. “The relationship between the IAF and the Canadian Air Force are extremely important,” Deschamps said. “This was an excellent opportunity to visit here. I learned a lot from you.”

Australian churches join BDS campaign against Israel
The National Council of Churches Australia (NCCA), the nation's largest ecumenical body, met last week for its 7th Triennial Forum, which resulted in a statement asking Australians to consider boycotting goods produced by Israeli settlements in the West Bank in solidarity with Palestinian Christians. "We are asking the member Churches of the NCCA to consider boycotting particular goods produced in Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It is hoped that such actions will liberate the people from an experience of injustice to one where a just and definitive peace may be reached," said the Rev. Tara Curlewis, General Secretary of the Council. "The NCCA welcomes the easing of the Israeli blockade of Gaza in recent days and calls for an immediate end to the blockade. The NCCA will stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine and act for an end to the injustice and suffering borne by the people". A motion passed during the meeting also affirmed the right of Israel and a Palestinian State to exist “within secure internationally recognized borders.” A copy of the resolution will be forwarded to the new Prime Minister of Australia, who is reported to be friendly to Israel, as well as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, members of Federal Parliament, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, and the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.

Israeli doctors train Chilean medics
Israeli doctors initiated a five-day course on trauma emergency and mass casualty situations in Chile six months ago which proved helpful last April when Chile suffered a powerful earthquake registering 8.8 on the Richter scale that was followed by a tsunami. The country has been trying to recuperate since the disaster, and Israeli medical staff have done their part to help. While in Santiago for a recent course, a team of Israelis discovered a lack of preparation among most institutions and a sense of urgency for Israeli know-how. The course was attended by over 300 medical workers, including top members of Chile’s military and police and rescue units. Part of Chile’s 15,000-member Jewish community is also helping to restore the disaster site and gave two ambulances which were dedicated at a ceremony attended by the delegation and Chilean government officials.

Somali based pirates move operations to the Red Sea
The commander of NATO's counter-piracy flotilla said Wednesday that Somalia based pirates might be shifting their area of operations from the Gulf of Aden to the southern Red Sea where international naval forces lack a clear legal mandate to stop them. "We are very cautious and we're worried that there might be more attacks in that area," Dutch Commodore Michiel Hijmans Hijmans said on Wednesday. The UN Security Council has authorized NATO forces, as well as ships from the US, EU, Russia, India and China to interdict pirates at sea in the Gulf of Aden but the Red Sea is an undefined area. Thousands of ships pass through the narrow waterway every year, including many Israeli ships which so far have not been targeted by pirates.