President Vladimir Putin turns aside all Israel’s complaints about Russian arms supplies to Iran’s Lebanese proxy, Hizballah, whenever he talks to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – roughly every week-to-ten days. The issue is also raised without results by Israeli officials on trips to Moscow, including the visit by Yossi Cohen, Director of the Mossad, to the Russian capital on July 1.
Nonetheless, Netanyahu persisted in complaining again about the Russian arms reaching the Lebanese terrorist group in his latest phone conversation with Putin on Saturday, July 23. He made the call, DEBKAfile military sources say, primarily to raise another topic at issue, the UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) flights from Syria into Israeli airspace on July 17.
After their conversation, the Kremlin issued a bland statement saying that the two leaders discussed issues related to the war on terrorism, and that both agreed to continue the ties between the countries at “various levels.”
Our military sources report that the conviction gaining ground now among IDF intelligence (AMAN) and Air Force chiefs is that the drone was not Iranian or Hizballah’s but Russian. They take a grave view of the episode – especially when the unmanned aircraft, which hovered for some hours over the Golan and northern Israel, appears to have been a “Searcher,” the reconnaissance drone developed by Israel and manufactured by Russia as “Forpost” under Israeli license.
Moscow is making use of the sophisticated Forpost UAV for surveillance and intelligence-gathering in Syria, Ukraine and terrorist targets in the Caucasian mountains.
If IDF chiefs are correct, then a Russian drone developed by Israel was used by to spy on Israel after it was launched from an Iranian or Hizballah base in the Syrian Qalamun Mountains. This action crossed more than one Israeli red line.
Adding insult to injury, the drone’s electronic jamming devices were activated to disarm the missiles and aircraft Israel scrambled to intercept it.
This issue is a further irritant on top of the Russian arms supplies to Hizballah, which elude Israel’s efforts to interrupt them by two covert tactics:
1. Russian weapons consignments to the Syrian army are in excess of the recipient’s requirements; the surplus is secretly diverted to the Hizballah. Israeli air strikes only smash the Iranian and Syrian weapons convoys known to be heading out of Syria to Lebanon on the strength of data provided by Israeli military intelligence (Aman). But the traffic missed by Aman goes through to its destination.
By this tactic, our military sources report, Hizballah has succeeded in basing most of its fighting units, not only in Syria, but also in Lebanon, on Russian weaponry – last year, at a battalion level; by June 2016, including company level. Their hardware is not limited to personal side-arms from Russia, but also anti-aircraft and anti-tanks missiles.
Where do they come from?
2. The Russian military industry is the main supplier of raw materials for Syria’s arms manufacture, including missiles. Without this assistance, the Assad regime would not have been able to manufacture the Scud C mid-range ground-to-ground missiles or the Fateh-110 missiles.
Some of these made-in-Syria missiles are quietly consigned to the Hizballah.
Our sources have found that Putin habitually acts surprised and feigns ignorance whenever Netanyahu raises the issue of the Russian weapon supply to the Hizballah. He then promises to look into Israel’s complaint and get back to him with an answer. Weeks go by and the Russian president informs the prime minister that the thorough examination he ordered found no evidence of any Russian military or civilian body supplying Hizballah with weapons.
Netanyahu shows his disbelief and continues to raise the issue each time he speaks with Putin.Meanwhile, the Russian arms supply to Hizballah goes on with Israel constrained from interfering.
DEBKAfile: These occurrences demonstrate that the military and intelligence relations between Israel and Russia are in fact a far cry from the entente cordiale presumed in Israel and Western capitals. Indeed, working relations are handicapped by the effect of such incidents to erode even the limited understanding the two leaders reached to coordinate military intelligence and air force operations in the Syrian arena.
As dr Gaul said: Fr has no friends but only interests. Time for IL to play close to the Jacket with US, Putin and China when it comes to security and technology.
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
Hola SHmuel I think you are right. Certainly seems to be in character. Motivation will become clear once he is gone.
@ yamit82: Hola Yamit.
Renewing the “storage” of those bombs was signed by, of course, Hussein. No one with even a shade of military understanding could fathom why… except one who is a Muslim.
Regrettably, we will all rue the day that was done.
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
This should interest you as you were first to broach the subject and it’s danger.
The Hostage Air Base – And Its Hydrogen Bombs
Read more at http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/2016/07/20/hostage-air-base-hydrogen-bombs/#sCR70ejjMpPexmUJ.99
The fact is that Netanyahu is just as successful in dealing with Russia’s arming of both Iran and its proxies as he was on stopping the Iranian and its US supporter nuclear plans.
As far as the war materials merchants and state institutions support of the sale of critical defense instruments to potential enemies… This proves again the we, ourselves are our worst enemies.
His African Conga stunts may fool some folk but not those aware of his total lack of grit and dedication to our security.
I and many others objected to the sale of Israeli drones to Russia and any 3rd party as they are today a strategic weapons system. We knew Russia could reverse engineer them and even upgrade them. Even if it was not Russia operating the drone it was given by Russia to enemies of Israel… BB at the time said no problem they were 3rd generation models and we already have 4th and 5th generation drones in production. By Israel selling some 1/2 billion dollars of drones over 3-4 years to Russia we have allowed them to bridge the technological gap and become a direct competitor in the world market….. This looks like a case of greed overtaking common sense and the ultimate price we might pay has not yet been felt or calculated……
We have done the same with Turkey so the drone might have been Turkish?
The Foreign Ministry has halted a drone sale to Ukraine out of fears the deal would antagonize Russia, an ally of breakaway regions in east Ukraine. Israeli defense firms had exported weapons to 29 countries over the past decade. But the state only gave figures for 2011 and 2012, saying that weapons in those years had been sold to Spain, the United States, Kenya, South Korea and Britain.
According to figures presented to the Knesset State Control Committee by the Defense Ministry this year (2012), around 8,000 arms export licenses are granted annually out of 9,000 requests. These weapons go to some “130 countries and entities.” The flourishing armed drone market globally and in the Middle East. The global military UAV market reached $6.4 billion in 2015; that figure is expected to surpass $10 billion in 2024.
Armed UAVs are seen as the shining star of the Middle East arms market. They top the lists of defense expenditures and procurement in many countries in the region.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/12/turkey-drones-what-is-ankaras-hurry.html#ixzz4FRm4DU5S
BB folds again he never read the art of the deal Haaaaaa
Netanyahu Likely to Accept U.S. Defense Aid Conditions as Talks Enter Final Round
After accepting terms, U.S. defense aid over the next decade could rise from the current proposal of $37 billion to $40 billion.
read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.733045
this is one of the more believable of Debka articles. It sounds like Putins MO: play dumb and then suddenly the fait accompli. Persia and the arabs are the big fish he wants, Israel is easily satisfied with a pat on the head, a tootsie lolipop and sent home smiling. Putin knows that all he needs to give the Jews is a sympathetic ear. By the time they wake up its too late. Deception and surprise. Look at how he worked Crimea and Syria.