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Israel unveils tactical missile first used by Azerbaijan against Christian Karabakh

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israeli tactical missile AzerbaijanIsrael, azerbaijan Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has unveiled new fifth-generation Spike missiles at the Paris Air Show, which are already used by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Jerusalem Online reports.

A video released in May showed the guided missile being launched and then partially destroying an Armenian military objective.

Following Azerbaijan’s provocations, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in a statement gave an assessment of the current situation on the Karabakh line of contact, addressed to Azerbaijan. The French, Russian and U.S. ambassadors cited “information collected from multiple reliable sources” which proved that Azerbaijan initiated the latest escalation on the contact line.

The new missile, called the Spike LR II or Spike 2, has a range of up to 5.5 kilometers when launched from the ground and a range of 10 kilometers when launched from a fighter jet. Successfully tested in Israel, the Spike LR II missiles are already being used in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict.

The missile weighs only 12.7 kilograms and can be launched from any Spike system. It possesses advanced artificial intelligence capabilities, increased abilities to destroy buildings and armor and the ability to deal with reactive and active reinforcements on an armored fighting vehicle.

According to foreign reports, Hezbollah also possesses this type of anti-aircraft battery.

Related links:

Jerusalem Online. Watch: Advanced Israeli missile tested in Israel and then used in Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict

Expert: Israel uses Azerbaijan as a range

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Israel uses Azerbaijan as a range YEREVAN. – Israel is using Azerbaijan as a range for weapons, military expert Arkady Grigoryan believes.

His comment came in response to Armenian News – NEWS.am request to comment on the Azerbaijani and Israeli media reports.

“In fact, based on publications, it turns out that the Azeris used Spike earlier than its development was completed in Israel. On the other hand, it is very likely that Azerbaijanis are simply bluffing, giving out old versions for newer ones,” the expert said.

At the same time, he believes that the Israeli side will not point to Baku’s tricks, as Azerbaijan’s use of Israel-made weapons has a double advantage: Azerbaijan is both a testing ground and a means of advertising.

Israeli Aircraft Struck Syrian Troops while syrian Repelling Terrorists’ Attack in Golans

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A source on the ground told RIA Novosti that the Syrian government forces have been repelling a massive Nusra-Front terrorists’ attack in the Golan Heights when they were struck by the Israeli Air Force in the area.

“The [Syrian] army repelled a massive al-Nusra Front attack on the city of Baath in the Quneitra province [bordering the Golan Heights]. The army took up the fight with terrorists. The attackers have suffered losses. [Syrian] aviation and artillery helped repel the attacks,” the source told RIA Novosti.

According to the source, a Israeli Air Force helicopter launched a strike on the Syrian army in Baath at the moment of the al-Nusra Front offensive.

Earlier on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the Israeli Air Force attacked the Syrian government forces’ tanks and artillery positions after 10 projectiles fell on the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan Heights.

According to Al Mayadeen channel citing a source, at least two Syrian soldiers were killed in the airstrike.

The majority of such incidents are described by the Israeli military as accidental overspills during clashes between the Syrian government forces and opposition groups.

The Golan Heights, internationally recognized as Syrian territory, was seized by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967. In 1981, the Israeli parliament voted to annex two-thirds of the region. The United Nations has repeatedly stated that Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights is illegal, calling for it to be returned to Syria.

Source: https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201706241054948125-israel-syria-army-golans/

Israel mulls closing Al Jazeera bureau in Jerusalem al-Quds: Report

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Israel mulls closing Al Jazeera bureau in Jerusalem al-Quds: ReportA report says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering shutting down the Jerusalem al-Quds bureau of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera broadcaster, as a diplomatic rift escalates between a Saudi-led bloc of countries with Qatar.

Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Tuesday that Netanyahu had met with members of the foreign ministry, ministry of military affairs, and other institutions on Monday and discussed preliminary steps for closing the Al Jazeera office in Jerusalem al-Quds.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt have already blocked several Qatari media outlets, including Al Jazeera. The four countries cut their diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing Doha of destabilizing the region with its support for terrorism, an accusation rejected by the Qatari government.

In a relevant development on Monday, Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s minister for military affairs, compared Al Jazeera to the Nazi- and Soviet-era propaganda apparatuses.

“Some [Arab countries’] interests overlap with Israeli interests, including the issue with Al Jazeera,” Liberman said. “Al-Jazeera is not media… It’s an incitement machine. It is pure propaganda, of the worst variety, in the style of Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia.”

Lieberman also accused Al Jazeera of supporting Iran, saying, “I’ve been tracking Al Jazeera for many years. You’ll never see a single article against Iran.”

The potential move to close the Al Jazeera office in Jerusalem al-Quds and the unprecedented remarks by Lieberman are indicative of how the Israeli and Saudi regimes may be increasingly tilting toward one another. There have already been signs that the ties between Israel and certain Arab regimes — traditionally putative adversaries — have been covertly expanding in recent years.

Netanyahu has on several occasions talked of the development of ties between Israel and certain Arab countries. So have other Israeli officials. Moshe Ya’alon, Israel’s former minister of military affairs, in February 2016 pointed to open channels between the regime and some Arab states.

Back in January 2016, Netanyahu said during an interview with CNN that Saudi Arabia now saw Tel Aviv “as an ally rather as an enemy.”

Israelis skeptical of Trump ahead of visit

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trump israelAs the US president’s visit nears, nobody in Israel knows what to expect. Donald Trump wants an Israeli-Palestinian deal. But the Israeli right has stopped rejoicing, and the public is skeptical, reports Miriam Dagan.

Trump and his administration did what they do best ahead of his trip to Israel on Monday and Tuesday: send contradictory signals. When news came that the president was planning a visit to the Western Wall, Jews’ holiest place of prayer, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked to join him.

It’s a stop not usually made by Western dignitaries as a matter of standard diplomatic procedure, because it is part of the Old City of Jerusalem that Israel annexed after the 1967 Six-Day War – a move not recognized by the international community.

Netanyahu’s suggestion ended with contention. When a senior US diplomat responded with, “It’s not your territory, it’s part of the West Bank,” Israelis were shocked. The White House later stated that it doesn’t share that view. Nevertheless, Trump plans to go to the site without Israeli officials.

tinerary details aside, Trump has disappointed the Israeli settler movement and the right by speaking out against construction in the West Bank, contrary to earlier promises and declarations. Now, in what’s seen as a dramatic breach of the Israeli intelligence community’s trust, he may have leaked sensitive information to Russian officials.

Read more: Where white nationalists and Zionists meet

Left-leaning media in Israel have been keen to report that the tables have been turned on Netanyahu, with headlines like “Netanyahu fears Trump’s cooking something big” in Haaretz. The paper quoted Tzipi Livni, a highly respected opposition politician and former chief negotiator with the Palestinians, after meeting with Trump’s Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt: “We have a huge opportunity. The president is talking about his determination to close a deal; that is, to end the conflict. We have a president who thinks big and addresses the hardcore.”

But the US president has not exactly turned from the hero of the Israeli right into the hope of the Israeli left.

Israeli diplomat and US-Israel relations expert Alon Pinkas told DW it is wrong to think Trump will be able to impose a solution.

“Trump may apply pressure, and the left may think Netanyahu won’t be able to resist him because he’s not Obama. But Netanyahu would just use that as a pretext for elections, saying that he doesn’t have support from his coalition.”

Little hope

According to Pinkas, Israelis are very skeptical of Trump, while average Israelis haven’t seen anything to make them change their minds on the conflict: “No one believes the Palestinians, and no one likes settlements. Israelis are disillusioned, tired of talking about these issues, and hoping the situation in the West Bank is going to go away like a headache.”

Indeed, Israelis seem to harbor little hope that Trump will change anything.

Read more: For pro-Israel Americans, Trump’s support may be less than welcome

“A deal is not going to happen; it would be a miracle,” said Shalom Rahabi, a middle-aged Jew of Yemenite descent. “You can’t know what’s going to happen,” added his friend Dani Abuker. “Trump changes his mind all the time.” But in Rahabi’s opinion, the Palestinians are too divided. “How can we make peace if they are not at peace with each other? I promise you, if [Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas makes a deal with us, he will be murdered by his own people.”

Israel intensify attack on Syria, A missiles hit near Damascus International Airport: Syria media

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Israel attack SyriaA huge explosion that rocked the area of Damascus International Airport was caused by Israeli missiles targeting a “military position,” according to Syria’s SANA news agency.

“A military position southwest of Damascus International Airport was targeted at dawn today by an Israeli aggression using several missiles fired from occupied territory, sparking explosions in the area,” SANA said Thursday, citing a military source.

Footage emerged of burning fuel or gas at fuel tanks and an ammunition depot in the airport’s compound early on Thursday, according to reports.

“The blast was huge and could be heard in Damascus,” said Rami Abdulrahman, head of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Lebanon’s Al-Manar television channel had earlier reported that the explosion and fire were likely caused by an Israeli airstrike.

There have been no reports of casualties so far.

Israeli warplanes have targeted the Damascus airport and other bases around the capital in the past. The airport was hit by Israeli airstrikes in December 2014.

The Israeli regime does not usually confirm or deny the raids it conducts on Syrian soil.

Syria: 3 Syrian forces killed in fresh Israeli attack on Syrian military camp

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Three Syrian forces have been killed in a fresh Israeli attack on a military camp near the southwestern city of Quneitra, a military official says.

The attack hit the al-Fawwar camp on Sunday, wounding two others, the unnamed official told the French news agency AFP.

It was not clear whether the assault was an airstrike or shelling. The attack comes after Israel struck a Syrian army position in the province of Quneitra on the Golan plateau on Friday, “causing damage.”

A Syrian military source told the official SANA news agency that the Israeli aggression came after an attempt by terrorists to infiltrate military positions in Quneitra was foiled and the assailants suffered heavy losses.

The Israeli military confirmed the raid in a statement, saying it was conducted shortly after three mortar shells allegedly fired from Syria hit an open area in the northern occupied Golan Heights.

The Tel Aviv regime regularly hits positions held by the Syrian army in the Golan Heights, claiming that the attacks are retaliatory. Syria says the raids aim to help ISIS militants fighting against government forces.

In the past, the Syrian army has confiscated Israeli-made arms and military equipment from terrorists fighting the government forces. There are also reports that Tel Aviv has been treating the extremists wounded in Syria.

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria after the 1967 Six-Day War and later occupied it in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

The regime has built tens of illegal settlements in the area ever since and used the region to carry out military operations against the Syrian government.

Army advances against militants

Separately on Sunday, Syrian forces recaptured Halfaya town in the west-central Hama Province, the Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen TV channel reported.

Meanwhile, pro-opposition media reported fierce clashes between the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) militants and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northern countryside of Hama.

US defense officials also told Fox News that the Daesh terrorist group is now centered in the city of Dayr al-Zawr, some 144 kilometers southeast of Raqqah, the Takfiri outfit’s de facto capital in Syria.

They said that US military drones have watched hundreds of Daesh “bureaucrats” or administrators, leaving Raqqah in the past two months.

Moscow summons Israeli diplomat over airstrike in Syria

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Russia’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed it summoned the Israeli ambassador to Moscow to discuss a mission by Israeli warplanes in Syrian airspace. The incident in question took place near the city of Palmyra last week.

Russia summoned the Israeli Ambassador Gary Koren for questioning, several Russian news outlets reported on Monday.

Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said the country “expressed concern” over the incident on March 17 during which the Israeli military bombed targets inside Syria. Syrian state forces used anti-aircraft weapons in retaliation.

At the time, the Syrian army said it had shot down an Israeli warplane, hit another and forced the rest to flee, but Israel’s military denied that account. Israel said one Syrian missile was intercepted by its Arrow air defense system.

In comments carried by state news agency RIA Novosti on Monday, Bogdanov said Russia demanded that Israel more closely communicate its military plans in the region to avoid such incidents.

Russian troops were reportedly in the targeted region near the famed city of Palmyra, which had once again been captured by Syrian troops from “Islamic State” forces earlier in March.

Israel says Hezbollah targeted

Israel said its planes were targeting a weapons convoy destined for Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group bent on destroying Israel, which is fighting alongside troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

On Sunday, Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned Syria not to fire Israeli jets carrying out missions over Syrian territory.

“The next time the Syrians use their air defense systems against our planes we will destroy them without the slightest hesitation,” Lieberman said on Israeli public radio.

Read: Syrian government forces beat back surprise rebel assault in Damascus

International allegiances

Russia is a key ally of Assad. Backing from Moscow has seen the military conflict turn in Assad’s favor in recent months. Russia has also maintained close relations with Israel despite the long-standing animosity between Syria and the Jewish state. Israel seized most of the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and annexed it in 1981, a move never recognized by the international community.

The multisided Syrian war has been going on for more than six years, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and forcing millions to flee their homes. While Israel has mostly kept out of the war, its military has from time to time been reported to have conducted airstrikes within Syria, especially against Hezbollah forces. Israel’s government normally neither confirms nor denies these strikes.

Syria Bomb Islamic State ISIS, Israeli jets strike inside Syria,

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The Israeli military has said it struck several targets inside Syria early Friday morning, an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) statement said, according to CNN report.

Several anti-aircraft missiles were fired at the Israeli jets, the IDF said, including one missile that was shot down by an “aerial defense system.” The statement denied that the mission put Israeli civilians or the aircraft involved at risk.

“At no point was the safety of Israeli civilians or the IAF aircraft compromised,” the statement said, referring to the Israeli air force.

Israel has reportedly struck Syria multiple times in the past, often targeting weapons shipments headed for Hezbollah. The IDF rarely acknowledges these strikes, however, making Friday’s statement very unusual.

For every Syrian Success Against #ISIS Daesh, in turn receive flagrant attack from Israel

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Israeli military aircraft have reportedly carried out an overnight airstrike against Syrian army positions in the strategic and mountainous Qalamoun region, which lies north of the capital Damascus along the border with neighboring Lebanon.

A Syrian military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said an Israeli fighter jet crossed into Syria’s airspace at around 3 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) on Wednesday after circling the skies of Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley and flying above the eastern city of Baalbek, al-Masdar News reported.

The source added that the airstrike hit Jard Nalhleh area of Qalamoun, located about 330 kilometers (205 miles) north of Damascus.

The Lebanese and Arabic-language online newspaper el-Nashra later reported that a convoy transporting weapons was the target. No injuries were reported.

The Israeli media outlets alleged that the weapons shipment was destined to fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement, who are fighting alongside Syrian government soldiers against foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants.

The aerial attack came a fortnight after Israeli tanks shelled an open area in the occupied Golan Heights, without causing any casualties.

Israeli jets have time and again carried out sorties inside the Syrian territory under various pretexts.

On January 13, a huge explosion rocked Mezzeh Military Airport, less than eight kilometers southwest of Damascus and caused a large fire. There was no immediate report of casualties though.

Syrian state TV quoted the army command as saying that the rockets, which it said were fired from an area close to the Sea of Galilee in the north of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, hit the airport’s compound.

The Syrian army vowed to take revenge for the “flagrant” attack and “amputate the arms of the perpetrators.”

“The Syrian army command and armed forces warn Israel of the repercussions of the flagrant attack and stresses its continued fight against terrorism,” it said in a statement.

Source:http://presstv.com/Detail/2017/02/22/511625/Israel-fighter-jets-airstrike-Syria-army-positions-Damascus