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Israeli journalist Yossi Melman: I would take Azerbaijani website to court unless they apologize

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YEREVAN. – Israeli-Azerbaijani relations will not be affected by the recent scandal over Israeli drone producer who was told to attack the Armenian military on behalf of Azerbaijan, Israeli journalist Yossi Melman told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Earlier this year journalist and writer Yossi Melman published an article in Maariv newspaper saying that  Israeli defense ministry was investigating the complaint saying Israel-based Aeronautics Defense Systems refused to demonstrate the capabilities of new drones on Armenian targets as requested by Azerbaijan.

“I do not think geopolitical situation in your area has changed. Israeli-Azeri relations are not affected by this particular case. This does not affect the overall relations and would not affect in the long run, it is an isolated case of a company. I would put it differently, Azerbaijan is very important for Israel, but this case is so outrageous, that even the defense ministry realized that they cannot turn a blind eye,” Mr. Melman said.

He mentioned that Azerbaijani side tried to say that the case “is poisoning the relations”, but Israeli side explained that “we are a democratic society and we cannot interfere with the investigation.”

On Monday it was revealed that Israeli police have opened a criminal investigation  against an Israeli drone manufacturer. News of the investigation came out as an Israeli court approved a gag order for the case, constraining the information that can be spread about it.

The journalist said that the probe started in late July when the defense ministry started to investigate the case. He believes the Israeli authorities realized that it is a complex investigation, and it is not only about breaching the terms of the license, but may be something bigger.

“As to the gag order by court, I think it is a theater of absurd. The gag order will operate until March and will forbid Israeli media to report about the case. I think the gag order would be challenged by Israeli media outlets,” he emphasized.

Mr. Melman said he had become a public enemy in Azerbaijan, and was even called “an agent of Armenia” on one of Azerbaijani websites.

“I am demanding an apology. They said I am corrupt journalist and received bribes from Armenian lobby. I would take them to court for defamation and I would demand compensation,” he said.

The journalist added that unless he receives an apology from Azerbaijani website, he would take the case to the British court.

Source: news.am

Iran opposed to Israeli-Azerbaijani cooperation – Armenian analyst

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The Israeli-Azerbaijani cooperation agreements, signed in the course of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Baku, run counter to not only Armenian but also Iranian interests, according to Vardan Voskanyan, an Armenian expert in Iranian studies.
Speaking to Tert.am, Voskanyan said he expects very tough reactions by the Islamic Republic on the level of both the clergy and the political elite, as well as the society at large .
“Given the Iranian policy actions, however, those steps will not be planned for the short-term perspective; they will have far-reaching objectives,” he noted.

As part of his working trip to Azerbaijan, Netanyahu met with President Ilham Aliyev to a range of cooperation documents addressing, among other things, the agricultural sector and procedures for evading double property tax.
Voskanyan noted that Iranian politicians later issued threats to the Azerbaijani leadership, urging it to revise its regional cooperation perspectives with Israel. “I think it may be treated as a considerably hazardous move by Azerbaijan, as the country pins great hopes on Iran in an attempt to achieve Armenia’s isolation through imitated cooperation. Iran now sees that any long-term cooperation with Azerbaijan is doomed to failure,” he added.

According to the expert, the Israeli and Azerbaijani top officials must have considered also an anti-Iranian plan of actions at the recent meeting. “One doesn’t have to be gifted with a special wisdom to realize that the Israeli prime minister’s Baku visit agenda included included also an anti-Iranian plan of actions. No public statement will be issued with respect to those actions, but the Iranians are quite skilled and experienced enough to need additional explanations as to possible hazards,” he added.
Voskanyan noted that the two countries maintain close relations in almost all areas, including military security. In his words, Azerbaijan used Israeli drones in Nagorno-Karabakh during the four-day fighting in April. “The Israeli armament is used not only against Armenia but also Iran. So the hazard is an equal concern for both us and the Iranians,” he added.

 

The expert stressed the importance of closer Armenian-Iranian relations against the backdrop of the recent development.s “Possibilities of cooperation need to be revised with respect to areas that might not have been considered before. I think it has to be included into both countries agenda as the threats stemming from Azerbaijan are pose an equal hazard to Iran and Armenia,” he added.

 

Hripsime Hovhannsiyan

Israel: Netanyahu to visit Muslim Azerbaijan, to Build drone factory in Baku Against Christian Armenia.

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Iranian university students in the Ardabil Province protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned trip to the Republic of Azerbaijan, December 12, 2016.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is to begin a rare visit to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan amid media fanfare, but protesters have already taken to the streets to condemn his presence in the Muslim countries.  

The two-day tour, which is to begin on Tuesday, is the first by an Israeli prime minister to the region in a quarter century.

Members of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan gathered in front of the country’s Foreign Ministry in Baku on Monday, venting their anger at Netanyahu’s planned visit to their country.

The Times of Israel has billed the trip as a vehicle to “bolster trade, [and] political support” with the two Muslim countries.

Azerbaijan, which supplies 40 percent of Israel’s oil, is a notable trade partner of the regime. Baku has also maintained controversially strong military cooperation with Tel Aviv.

The two sides have previously signed an agreement on the sale of 1.6 billion dollars worth of Israeli drones, anti-aircraft systems, and missiles to the Caucasian country which borders Iran and Russia.

The Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd has announced in the run-up to Netanyahu’s visit that it would build a drone factory in Baku, while reports pointed to the republic’s interest in Israel’s Iron Dome missile system.

The Jerusalem Post has described the bilateral partnership as an “iceberg,” with no more visible part than a tip. “The invisible parts of this ‘iceberg’ are mutual benefits,” it wrote in an opinion piece.

Netanyahu will, however, reportedly spend no more than seven hours in Azerbaijan, after which he will head to Kazakhstan with a reported agenda to discuss the potential provision of military training and technologies for the Asian country.

The trip comes amid considerable criticism, even among the traditional allies, of Tel Aviv’s persistent expansion of illegal settlements on the occupied Palestinian territories.

Azerbaijan shares an extensive border with Iran. On Monday, university students in Iran’s Azeri-speaking Ardabil Province held a rally to condemn the visit and Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians.

The protesters chanted “down with Israel” and denounced the visit as an unwelcome inroad into a Shia Muslim country.

Source: presstv.com

Israel W. Charny: Would Israel sell a used drone to a Hitler?

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f5724d6820d811_5724d6820d859.thumbExecutive director and co-founder of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem and editor of the Encyclopaedia of Genocide, Israel W. Charny published an article in The Times of Israel concerning Israel selling arms to Azerbaijan.

“I am ashamed. The Armenians were the victims of a major genocide 100 years ago that has even been called the “Armenian Shoah” by some Israeli scholars, including from Bar Ilan University. A great deal of their national and cultural ethos continues to focus passionately on the memory of that genocide (does that sound familiar to us Jews?). For many years now, we Israelis – whether led by Labor or Likud – have insulted and hurt the Armenian people by failing to recognize their genocide officially and formally. Would we ourselves tolerate another government – say the US or England – refusing to recognize the Holocaust because of their realpolitik interest with the perpetrator government?” he writes.

Charny also writes that Israel is reported to have sold billions of dollars worth of arms, including to ‘governments that are killing or threatening to attack victim peoples’.

“In general, how willing are we Israelis to strengthen our economy by lucrative arms sales? Of course, “everyone” in the world is doing it, but do we have to also? Have we given up the vision of Israel as a moral leader of peoples on this planet? Is this idea tiresome, naïve, and childlike in a madly destructive and self-destroying world?

An alternative principle could be that we build arms first and foremost for the defense of Israel, and that we supply arms only to underdog peoples who are facing mass destruction and to allies like the US that are essentially committed to shared democratic values and to peace. Of course we will still make some mistakes, but at least our conscience will be more clear that we have not delivered arms to the ‘Nazis.’
To my Armenian colleagues and friends, I can only say that as a Jew and as an Israeli, I am mortified – and angry,” writes the scientist.

 

Source Panorama.a