Cyprus-Forum.com

[Paphitis]

"'Freedom Flotilla II' set to sail for Gaza from Turkey "
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Poli ... key-369065

We all know what happened the last time, this time however, subject to Ankara's agreement to provide military escort to the flotilla, one could only hazard a guess as to the likely reaction of the Israeli military.

The scenario is set for a Turkish- Israeli confrontation, I do not however believe that Turkey would embark on a mission likely to inflame the already inflamed situation.

Erdogan will use any trick to get elected as President in the next Turkish Elections. I bet he won't be aboard, but will send others to die for him.

Maybe Erdogan thinks he can break the Israeli treasury by demanding high compensation for those Turks to be killed by Israel in the next flotilla to Gaza???

The repercussions of any Turkish military involvement would be catastrophic for the entire region. I doubt very much that Turkey will provide military escort to this latest flotilla, efforts ought to be concentrated on diffusing the current situation and not inflaming an already highly fused situation which has caused so much suffering to the people of Gaza.

Israel will not agree to a ceasefire that leaves Hamas in the position it was before this war, concessions must be made by both parties in order to bring to an end this tragic war.

Let Hamas commit it self to putting a stop to the firing of rockets at Israel and let the Israelis commit to ending the blockade. Both parties can then claim a stupid victory. Is it this difficult to achieve and stop the continued suffering and killings.
Again I emphasize the futility of religion, both are religious, both are capable of killing filled with hatred, yet they both believe in a supposedly one god.

Nonsense!

A military confrontation between Israel and Turkey will be the best thing that ever happened!

Big countries like Turkey must flex some muscle and there comes a time every now and then when such countries have to fight for their pride and dignity which is currently left in tatters in Turkey's case and is the laughing stock of the world after Israel showed Turkey who the boss really is!

[miltiades]

"'Freedom Flotilla II' set to sail for Gaza from Turkey "
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Poli ... key-369065

We all know what happened the last time, this time however, subject to Ankara's agreement to provide military escort to the flotilla, one could only hazard a guess as to the likely reaction of the Israeli military.

The scenario is set for a Turkish- Israeli confrontation, I do not however believe that Turkey would embark on a mission likely to inflame the already inflamed situation.

Erdogan will use any trick to get elected as President in the next Turkish Elections. I bet he won't be aboard, but will send others to die for him.

Maybe Erdogan thinks he can break the Israeli treasury by demanding high compensation for those Turks to be killed by Israel in the next flotilla to Gaza???

The repercussions of any Turkish military involvement would be catastrophic for the entire region. I doubt very much that Turkey will provide military escort to this latest flotilla, efforts ought to be concentrated on diffusing the current situation and not inflaming an already highly fused situation which has caused so much suffering to the people of Gaza.

Israel will not agree to a ceasefire that leaves Hamas in the position it was before this war, concessions must be made by both parties in order to bring to an end this tragic war.

Let Hamas commit it self to putting a stop to the firing of rockets at Israel and let the Israelis commit to ending the blockade. Both parties can then claim a stupid victory. Is it this difficult to achieve and stop the continued suffering and killings.
Again I emphasize the futility of religion, both are religious, both are capable of killing filled with hatred, yet they both believe in a supposedly one god.

Nonsense!

A military confrontation between Israel and Turkey will be the best thing that ever happened!

Big countries like Turkey must flex some muscle and there comes a time every now and then when such countries have to fight for their pride and dignity which is currently left in tatters in Turkey's case and is the laughing stock of the world after Israel showed Turkey who the boss really is!

It will not be in the interests of Turkey to have a confrontation with Israel, neither would it be in the interests of Palestinians or Israelis.

For me the solution is simple.Hamas announces its commitment to stop firing rockets at Israel, and Israel announces its commitment to lift the blockade.

Turkeys involvement, highly unlikely in my opinion, will exacerbate the current conflict and cause more harm than good. Turkey is not stupid, it will not in my opinion agree to provide a military escort to the flotilla knowing full well what the Israeli response will be.

[Kikapu]

At this stage of the war between Israel and Hamas, Israel is not interested in agreeing for Hamas to stop firing rockets into Israel for them to lift the blockade. Since the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is no longer, it will be very difficult for Hamas to get rocket materials into Gaza once Israel destroys Hamas's weapons, tunnels and the Hamas structure, because replacing them will not be easy since Egypt now is on Israel's "side" and will be for the next few decades to come against Hamas. This is Israel’s best opportunity to bring Hamas to its knees and they are determined to do that regardless of the cost to Israel or the Palestinians. It has gone past the point of return without an absolute destruction of Hamas's ability to fight Israel in the future. Turkey can say what it wants, but it will not help Hamas. If Turkey wants’ any part of the Gaza war, then they should attack Israel. I don't think Erdogan has what it takes to make such a bold move. He is only good at giving a lot of empty threats and a lot of rhetoric to his uneducated supporters in Turkey. He is nothing but an "empty suit".

[miltiades]

"If Turkey wants’ any part of the Gaza war, then they should attack Israel. I don't think Erdogan has what it takes to make such a bold move."

I hope you are right that Erdogan does not have what it takes.
The consequences of an attack by Turkey would be catastrophic for both nations.

[miltiades]

Five hours ago:

"Dror Feiler, a former Israeli and Swedish citizen who has been active in the Freedom Flotilla initiative since 2009, said that as opposed to previous reports, there was and is NO INTENTION of having the new flotilla sail with a military escort from Turkey or any other country. Although he was also unable to give an estimated date of embarkation, he said that “as long as there is a blockade of Gaza, there will be flotillas to its coastline.”

[Paphitis]

"If Turkey wants’ any part of the Gaza war, then they should attack Israel. I don't think Erdogan has what it takes to make such a bold move."

I hope you are right that Erdogan does not have what it takes.
The consequences of an attack by Turkey would be catastrophic for both nations.

You might want to reassess exactly who it will be catastrophic for!

It would be the best thing to occur, for Cyprus and Greece and just about every other country in the region.

[Paphitis]

Five hours ago:

"Dror Feiler, a former Israeli and Swedish citizen who has been active in the Freedom Flotilla initiative since 2009, said that as opposed to previous reports, there was and is NO INTENTION of having the new flotilla sail with a military escort from Turkey or any other country. Although he was also unable to give an estimated date of embarkation, he said that “as long as there is a blockade of Gaza, there will be flotillas to its coastline.”

As usual, Turkey is just full of hot air and can't be taken seriously by anyone. Where is their dignity?

You call that a country?

[miltiades]

"If Turkey wants’ any part of the Gaza war, then they should attack Israel. I don't think Erdogan has what it takes to make such a bold move."

I hope you are right that Erdogan does not have what it takes.
The consequences of an attack by Turkey would be catastrophic for both nations.

You might want to reassess exactly who it will be catastrophic for!

It would be the best thing to occur, for Cyprus and Greece and just about every other country in the region.

Paphitis, Turkey going to war with Israel is highly unlikely, if the inevitable was to happen the consequences for both nations would be catastrophic.
You also seem to underestimate Turkey militarily, as the 8th most powerful nation in the world I don't think Israel will have it all its own way. Israel makes no. 11
http://www.globalfirepower.com/

[Paphitis]

"If Turkey wants’ any part of the Gaza war, then they should attack Israel. I don't think Erdogan has what it takes to make such a bold move."

I hope you are right that Erdogan does not have what it takes.
The consequences of an attack by Turkey would be catastrophic for both nations.

You might want to reassess exactly who it will be catastrophic for!

It would be the best thing to occur, for Cyprus and Greece and just about every other country in the region.

Paphitis, Turkey going to war with Israel is highly unlikely, if the inevitable was to happen the consequences for both nations would be catastrophic.
You also seem to underestimate Turkey militarily, as the 8th most powerful nation in the world I don't think Israel will have it all its own way. Israel makes no. 11
http://www.globalfirepower.com/

A confrontation would be the best thing for all!

You have no idea and you give global fire-power too much credit.

These rankings mean nothing. You should look at each countries firepower and what they spend on defence to get a better picture of capability.

I will give you an example.

A country has 58,000 regulars. The Navy and Air Force is amongst the most potent in the world. It's strike capability has a global reach.

Sure, they are not big enough to do a Normandy Style Beach Landing Invasion, but the submarines, fighters, bombers, and AWDs (soon 2 new aircraft carriers) can hit a country like Turkey within days of mobilising. It has the capability to annihilate the occupation forces in Northern Cyprus within a week. It has cutting edge technologies, has the backing of the USA in everything with no questions asked.

It is smaller than the Cyprus National Guard. Defence expenditure however is $26 Billion (ranked 5th).

The Turkish Military is about 750,000 and has Defence expenditure of $18 Billion. Does it have the capability to hit back? NO it does not!

Therefore, it can get a pounding, and it will be powerless to retaliate. That is with a force that is smaller than the Cyprus National Guard mind you (when mobilised).

The IDF has nothing to fear from from Turkey. It's all about who can hit the hardest from air. Israel does not plan to invade Turkey but when it comes to defending Israel, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of the IAF.

[miltiades]

Interesting figures but where do you get them from, give us a link.
All of us "commentators" have to rely to an extend on information searched, none of us is in a position to accurately assess a nations military strength , we rely on a number of sources, I gave mine now give yours.