Turkey provided Israel with intelligence on Syria prior to last week's alleged IAF flyover into the country, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida claimed on Thursday. According to the report, the country had a central role in delivering precise information regarding targets in Syria that were to be hit by Israeli planes. Further, the report claimed that the Israeli pilots were given authorization by the Turkish army to use its airspace in order to carry out the operation.
Sources told Al-Jarida that Turkish intelligence did not coordinate the move with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Coordination of the [release of information] occurred far away from the political echelon," it said.
The Israeli and Turkish armies share a strong relationship that has been felt through several joint exercises and weapons sales. On Saturday, an unnamed Turkish official demanded explanations from Israel after fuel tanks allegedly dropped by Israel F-151 planes who were conducting a foray into Syrian airspace, were found on the Turkish-Syrian border. Turkish paper Hurriyet reported that Turkey was demanding whether the Israeli planes also passed over its own airspace. |