(Ha'aretz) Chemi Shalev - Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon on Tuesday described Turkey as the leader, along with Qatar, of the Middle East's "Muslim Brotherhood Axis" and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as a "known follower" of the Islamist group. Ya'alon also told journalist Charlie Rose on PBS that Hamas had moved its operations from Syria to Turkey and had set up a "terror headquarters" in Istanbul alongside the one operating in Gaza. During a visit to Washington, Ya'alon made a point of thanking the U.S. for its support, especially for the Iron Dome anti-missile system. "Even if there are disagreements between the U.S. and Israel, they should not be allowed to cloud the deep friendship and warm, intimate ties between the two countries," he said. Ya'alon said that he once endorsed an agreement based on an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders, until he realized that the Palestinians would never make do with such an accord.
2014-10-22 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive