DTN News - MIDDLE EAST HOT SPOT: Egyptian Mediated Ceasefire Being Observed Between Israel and Hamas-Led Gaza Militants

Defense News: DTN News - MIDDLE EAST HOT SPOT:  Egyptian Mediated Ceasefire Being Observed Between Israel and Hamas-Led Gaza Militants
*Israel, Palestinians Agree on Long-Term Gaza Ceasefire

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources DTN Defense News
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 14, 2014: Israel and the Palestinians on Tuesday agreed on a long-term Egyptian-brokered ceasefire to end the devastating 50-day war in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip that has killed over 2,200 people. 

"An agreement has been reached between the two sides and we are awaiting the announcement from Cairo to determine the zero hour for implementation," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.
Zuhri said Egypt was expected to make an official announcement on the deal.

Cairo's initiative, Palestinians officials said, called for an indefinite halt to seven weeks of hostilities, the immediate opening of Gaza's blockaded crossings with Israel and Egypt and a widening of the enclave's fishing zone in the Mediterranean, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Under a second stage that would begin a month later, Israel and the Palestinians would discuss the construction of a Gaza sea port and an Israeli release of Hamas prisoners in the West Bank, the officials said.

A senior Palestinian official also confirmed that the Palestinians have reached an agreement with Israel on a "permanent" truce in Gaza.

There was no immediate comment from Israel on the claimed deal to end the deadly conflict in and around the enclave.

The Palestinian official gave no time for when a ceasefire would take effect but said President Mahmud Abbas would give further details in a speech from his West Bank headquarters at 1600 GMT (2130 IST). "The contacts that have been going on have led to a permanent ceasefire, a (deal to) end the blockade and a guarantee that Gaza's demands and needs will be met," the official said speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Islamist Hamas movement, de facto ruler of Gaza and party to the Abbas-led efforts to agree a truce, also said a deal had been struck with Israel. "The negotiations ended with an agreement which embodies the resistance of our people and a victory for the resistance," its exiled deputy leader Mussa Abu Marzuk wrote on his Facebook page.

The Palestinian official said the truce deal had been finalised after 48 hours of intensive shuttle diplomacy by Azzam al-Ahmed, head of the Palestinian delegation to the protracted, on-off truce talks in Cairo. "Over the past 48 hours, he has been shuttling between the leadership of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, all the factions, and Egyptian leaders, travelling between Ramallah, Gaza, Doha and overseas," the official said.

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DTN News - ISRAEL DEFENSE NEWS: IDF Launches Surprise Live-Fire Drill In Golan

Defense News: DTN News - ISRAEL DEFENSE NEWS: IDF Launches Surprise Live-Fire Drill In Golan 
*Exercise in Golan Heights aims to test army readiness and fitness in North and Central Commands, Artillery Corps

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Yaakov Lappin - Jerusalem Post

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 19, 2012: The IDF launched a surprise drill early Wednesday morning on the Golan Heights.

Units were scrambled to the North without warning following an order was given by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz.

The exercise is aimed at testing the fitness and readiness of several IDF units, with the Artillery Corps taking up center stage.

The Air Force has joined units from the IDF's Northern and Central Commands to take part in the drill. Other military forces are also taking part.

The exercise will end with a live fire exercise on Wednesday afternoon.

"This drill is part of a routine program of checks and surprise exercises held throughout the year by the IDF Comptroller. It is being held under the command of Brig.-Gen. Roee Riptin, who is the chief artillery officer," the IDF Spokesman's Unit said.

Sources in the IDF said the drill was planned ahead of time, and that it should not be seen as a sign of a change in the level of alert.

It comes on the heels of a major Golani Brigade infantry and Armored Corps drill, which was was jointly held in the Golan Heights over recent weeks.


Related News from Haaretz

*IDF Launches Surprise Live-Fire Drill In Golan Heights

The drill, to include Northern Command, Central Command, and Air Force troops, is meant to test the IDF’s readiness for an ‘emergency situation.

The Israel Defense Forces General Staff launched a comprehensive surprise drill on Wednesday, which will include the airlifting of forces to the Golan Heights and a live fire exercise, set to take place later in the evening.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz notified the units involved in the drill overnight, as the drill is meant to test the level of preparation of various units, including the Northern Command, Central Command, Air Force, and others.

The units involved specialize in offensive firepower, and for this reason they were chosen to participate in the drill, meant to test their readiness for an emergency situation.

The drill itself is expected to end in the evening, and is being overseen by the IDF’s Chief Artillery Officer, Brig. Gen. Roei Riftin, and is part of IDF efforts to examine the quality of operations, led by the IDF comptroller.

The drill was planned ahead of time and does not suggest the IDF has raised its level of preparation. However, such a test of the IDF’s ability to move a large number of forces from the Central Command to the Golan Heights, by way of helicopters, and to hold a comprehensive live-fire drill, examines the IDF’s ability to launch a serious military operation or even go to war.

A similar surprise drill was held on Yom Kippur Eve last year, involving two IDF divisions, which focused on testing the level of preparation for reserve units for emergency call-ups. Last year’s drill involved the emergency call-up of two reserve combat companies from the Central Command. Then, an IDF official said that holding the drill right before Yom Kippur was “more than a coincidence.”

Last week, the IDF began work on reinforcing the fence on the Israel-Syria border in the Golan Heights. Plans drafted by the IDF Northern Command call for placing dozens of new information-gathering sensors along the fence, electrifying parts of it so that it will warn of intruders, and laying mines along parts of the border.

Over the years, severe weather in the Golan Heights has battered the fence to the point where in certain places, it barely exists.

The Northern Command's main concern is the possibility that terrorists will try to launch a cross-border attack on IDF soldiers or on Israeli communities in the Golan. The army's assumption is that the deteriorating situation in Syria is liable to lead to an increase in terrorist activity near the border. Army sources said the volume of attempts to penetrate the border has already increased.


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Yaakov Lappin - Jerusalem Post
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DTN News - ISRAELI DEFENSE NEWS: Israel To Upgrade Air Force With F-35 Advanced Aircrafts

Defense News: DTN News - ISRAELI DEFENSE NEWS: Israel To Upgrade Air Force With F-35 Advanced Aircrafts

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By: Hanan Greenberg - Almonitor

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 9, 2012: Not long ago, a thick cloud of rumors settled on the new, much-talked-about IDF [Israel Defense Forces] acquisition of 20 F-35's, a fighter plane known as the Stealth produced by the American Lockheed Martin Company. There were rumors regarding production slowdowns and delays of the F-35, known as the “fifth generation fighter plane” (in contrast to the Israeli fourth-generation F-16's). The fear is that they will reach Israel very late — too late to serve the IDF in coping with future challenges.

Lockheed Martin officials rarely circulate official statements regarding their planes. Nevertheless, Steve O'Bryan (vice president for F-35 business development) elucidated in an interview with Ma’ariv Magazine, “We will meet the deadline that we set.”

O'Bryan, an F-18 pilot by training, recently visited Israel. Among his duties in Lockheed Martin is responsibility for coordinating details of the business transaction with Israel. In a conversation with him, O'Bryan dissipates the rumors regarding postponement of the planes’ delivery date. “The various delays are not significant with regard to the overall schedule of the process,” he explains. “We will meet the deadline that was set. [However,] it is possible that some of the upgrades will be carried out at a later date in Israel.”

According to O'Bryan, the aircrafts will be handed over to Israeli air force pilots in the American Eglin Air Force Base, South Florida sometime in the second half of 2016. Israeli airmen can begin training on the spot, and will return to Israel at the beginning of 2017. The transaction includes 20 fighter planes, at the cost of approximately $2.7 billion. According to our IDF leaders, this is just the beginning. In the present budgetary reality, painful decisions will have to be made even within the army, regarding its priorities. It is impossible to afford everything on the list: the Stealth, the updated Merkava Mark IV (armored personnel carrier for the Merkava, a tank), as well as a new torpedo boat.

During his stay in Israel, O'Bryan delivered a speech at a convention of the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies. He explained the revolution that the Stealth will cause [in Israel], in both functional and operational terms,out of his keen acquaintanceship with the Israeli air force. “You have one of the most advanced air forces in the world,” he noted. “When the F-35 airplanes arrive to join your fleet, you will reach another level altogether. The new plane will add much power and strength [to the air force] and allow even better confrontation with challenges.” The advantages listed by O'Bryan stem from the plane’s characteristics: it can fly under all weather conditions, day and night; it has higher maneuverability; and, perhaps most important of all, it can fly without being revealed by radar or the most sensitive, advanced instruments possessed by the countries around us.

Name and Number

Recently, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz delivered a survey speech to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Interspersed in his reports about Iran and Syria, Gantz also made an unusual statement, the kind never heard officially in the past from a high-placed IDF officer. “I have no doubt that we will need at least 2 squadrons for the F-35s,” he said. Thus he admitted that although the transaction included the new fighter plane, one squadron would ultimately not suffice. Thus, according to the Chief of Staff, the topic must be raised again at the next multi-year budgetary program called the Oz Plan, to double the quantities involved.

At the Committee, Gantz also admitted that the IDF will be forced to cope with new challenges before the Stealth planes are delivered. Nevertheless, long-term planning mandates the acquisition of the fighter planes. One example of an unforeseen regional change and challenge is the recent rise of Moslem Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi to presidency over Egypt. Egypt maintains an advanced western army, including an advanced air force with more than 450 fighter planes (200 of them are F-16s). Although no one is currently planning a war against Egypt, the Egyptian change in the regional alignment is enough to demonstrate the uncertainty that reigns in our neighborhood—and that is without even bringing up Iran.

Important Partners

For the Israel air force, the arrival of the F-35 is a very big deal, more significant than any other acquisition in the past. It was already decided that the fifth-generation Stealth squadron will be constructed in the Nevatim base. At this point, air force equipment is being re-examined (by the equipment group of the Air force and other professional agents) and the flight runways are being re-examined in order to adapt them to the new planes. The IDF is even considering creating new specifications for the underground Hardened Aircraft Shelters  [HAS] where the planes are parked when not in the air. Due to the different shape of the Stealth, it will have to be ‘parked’ in custom-designed underground shelters that are different than the ones that currently house fighter planes.

Due to the political changes in the Middle East — the Arab Spring that turned everything upside down — IDF top brass feel that the Stealth is advantageous not only for deterrence purposes. In fact, many believe that the reason for acquisition of Stealths is to achieve real air superiority. “While it is true that Syria has internal problems, it simultaneously is engaged in unprecedented investments in anti-aircraft systems,” says a top-echelon military officer. “Therefore, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels.”

Although the first planes will only arrive in about five years, the air force is already planning to acquire a new simulator to train the pilots in the use of the advanced aircraft. As part of the preparations for the planes, decisions will have to be made about the number of squadrons. Hence an event that may appear to be simple, really involves many internal struggles involving even former air-force officers. No less important is the new name of the aircraft. Like its brother in the air force family, the new F-35 Stealth will also receive a resoundingly Israeli name.

Quite a few defense industries in Israel are benefiting from the development of the new fighter plane, since they are involved in production of some of its components. Israel Aerospace Industries is in charge of producing wing-parts; Elbit — helmet-mounted display systems and airframe parts.

 “While Israel is not a direct associate of the project, it is a very important partner nonetheless,” analyzes O’Brien, “Israel is making a big contribution to the entire plan.”

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By: Hanan Greenberg - Almonitor
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