Ashton, Merkel say Israel has right to defend itself

By TOVAH LAZAROFF, REUTERS

LAST UPDATED: 11/16/2012

German chancellor blames Hamas for escalation; EU foreign affairs chief calls for stop to rocket attacks.

Photo: REUTERS/Kimmo Mantyla/Lehtikuva

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both issued strong statements in support of Israel’s right to defend itself on Friday.

Ashton added that she hoped Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil’s visit to Gaza on Friday morning would calm the situation.

“The rocket attacks by Hamas and other factions in Gaza, which began this current crisis are totally unacceptable for any government and must stop,” she said.

“Israel has the right to protect its population from these kind of attacks. I urge Israel to ensure that its response is proportionate,” she said.

“I am deeply concerned at the escalating violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip and deplore the loss of civilian lives on both sides,” Ashton said.

Ashton added that she had spoken with leaders in the region, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and the office of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, as to how best to de-escalate the situation.

“In my discussions, I made the point that we must move forward in finding a solution to the Middle East conflict so that million of people in the region can finally live in peace and security,” she said.

A German government spokesman said on Friday that Merkel is "very worried" about an escalation of violence in the Middle East and calls on Hamas to immediately stop shooting rockets from Gaza into Israel."

"Hamas in Gaza is responsible for the outbreak of violence," spokesman Georg Streiter told a news conference. "There is no justification for the shooting of rockets at Israel, which has led to massive suffering of the civilian population.

"The Chancellor urges those responsible in the Gaza Strip to immediately stop firing on Israel. At the same time she calls on the Egyptian government to use its influence on Hamas to limit the violence and bring it to an end."

Streiter said the Israeli government had the "right and obligation" to protect its population.

UN human rights chief urges Hamas, Israel to step back from brink

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay denounced Israel's aerial attacks on Gaza as well as rockets fired by Hamas into southern Israel and called on both sides on Friday to step back from the brink.
"She's appalled that once again civilians are losing their lives... She urges both sides to pull back from an increasingly dangerous confrontation," her spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing in Geneva.

"The High Commissioner has repeatedly and unequivocally condemned the indiscriminate firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel and is deeply concerned by the recent major upsurge in the number of rocket attacks and that they are now being aimed at a major city such as Tel Aviv," he said.

"She is also extremely concerned by the sharp increase in aerial attacks by Israeli forces on the heavily populated Gaza Strip in the past two days," he said.

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=292162

Largest US-Israel missile defense drill to kick off

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, Jerusalem Post

10/17/2012

Patriot, Iron Dome, Arrow missile defense shields to be tested; forces to simulate Unmanned Aerial Vehicle intrusion.

Photo: REUTERS/Havakuk Levison

US military forces have begun arriving in Israel to take part in the largest joint missile defense exercise of its kind, which will begin next week.

One thousand American soldiers will arrive on Israeli territory and a further 2,000 US troops in Europe and the United States will take part via remote defense computing systems. An equal number of Israeli soldiers will be involved.

During the drill, named Austere Challenge 12, Israeli air defense systems, such as the Iron Dome anti-rocket shield and Arrow 2 anti-ballistic missile batteries, will be deployed, as well as US and Israeli Patriot batteries. American naval ships carrying the Aegis combat system, which can intercept missiles, will take part, and at least one US Navy ship will dock at Haifa.

The IDF and the US military’s European Command will set up missile defense batteries across Israel. Most of the drill will involve computer simulations of incoming rockets, though in the last stage, a Patriot will be fired at a mock enemy projectile.

“Anyone can take away any message they want from this,” said the IDF’s Brig.-Gen. Nitzan Nuriel, who is heading the Israeli side of the exercise. “The fact that we are working together is a strong message by itself.”
Nuriel defined a successful program as “the interception of all incoming missiles to reduce damage to Israeli infrastructure.”

US Air Force Lt.-Gen. Craig Franklin – the senior American officer in Israel for the exercise – said Washington will be spending $30 million on the drill. Nuriel said Israel would be spending the same amount.
“This is a defensive exercise for missile-defense capabilities in Israel,” Franklin said. He stressed that the drill had no relation to any real world events. “It’s not there to send a message, but to prove a defensive missile capability for Israel,” Franklin said.

All threats to the Israeli home front would be included in scenarios, from long and short-range ballistic missiles to rockets and mortars, he added.

“It’s to prove defense interoperability between our two nations.”

Nuriel said scenarios would include missile attacks from multiple fronts involving more than one salvo per day.

“We need [the soldiers] to work at a high tempo, to prepare them for real scenarios if they are coming,” he said.

Nuriel confirmed that the air defense forces would also practice dealing with the threat of a hostile drone, such as the one sent by Hezbollah into Israeli airspace earlier this month.

A senior Israeli defense source added that the scenarios took “near and far threats” into consideration.
“When we look at the cooperation among our enemies, we understand that our national home front has turned into a target. A joint drill significantly strengthens our operational capabilities,” the source said.
“We welcome our American partners to Israel,” he added.

Throughout the exercise, military traffic on the country’s roads will be greater than usual, and some disruptions could occur to civilian traffic due to army convoys.

Earlier this week, Air Force chief Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel appointed a new head to the Air Defense Command this week.

Brig.-Gen. Shahar Shohat replaced Brig.-Gen. Doron Gavish after the latter completed his term as head of the force.

“The combination of new regimes and terror organizations armed with advanced weaponry, which were once reserved for militaries alone, creates a threat to the heart of our state and way of life,” Eshel warned during the ceremony.

“The Air Defense Command has a vital role in all of the components that make up [our] security concept – defense capabilities together with attack components enable victory,” he said.

Gavish noted that Israeli air defenses intercepted 109 enemy rockets fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip in recent years.

“This is a first-time operational achievement on a global scale,” he said.

http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=288275