Report: Barak warns Syria IDF planning Hezbollah op
Defense Minister agrees to extend 800 Turkish work permits issued in exchange for tank upgrades.
By Haaretz Service Tags: Hezbollah Turkey Syria IDFDefense Minister Ehud Barak has warned Syria through Turkish mediation that the Israel Defense Forces is planning to escalate its military operations against Hezbollah and Hamas, the London-based daily Al-Hayyat reported on Thursday.
On his visit to Turkey last week, Barak asked Turkish President Abdullah Ghoul to urge Syrian President Bashar Assad to adopt a different stance toward Hezbollah, according to Al-Hayyat.
The defense minister reportedly informed Turkey of Israel's intentions to widen its operation in Gaza and asked the Turkish leader to consider sending troops on an international mission to Gaza geared toward ending Qassam rocket fire and protecting the border.
This multi-national force will comprise representatives from Qatar, Malaysia and Jordan, according to the report.
The Defense Ministry has refused to respond to the report, which it said was the result of leaked information.
Barak said Tuesday that he anticipated Hezbollah would try to retaliate for last week's assassination of terrorist mastermind Imad Mughniyah, possibly with help from Syria and Iran.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for the attack and pledged to attack Jewish targets worldwide in revenge.
The U.S. intelligence chief has said, however, that internal Hezbollah factions or Syria may be to blame for Mughniyah's death.
Israel to extend 800 Turkish work permits given in exchange for tank upgrades
The government will approve Defense Minister Ehud Barak's proposal to extend the working permits of 800 Turkish workers in Israel.
The workers in question were part of a deal that was signed between Israel and Turkey three years ago in which Israel upgraded Turkish tanks at the cost of 700 million dollars and in turn gave working permits to 800Turkish workers.
During Barak's visit to Ankara last week, Turkish officials asked that the work permits be extended and Barak agreed.
"Israel agreed to the request due to the strategic importance of our ties with Turkey," an official in the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
Five months ago, the High Court dismissed a petition of the Turks-for-tanks deal. In the petition, the Hotline for Migrant Workers said that the deal is nothing more than state-sponsored Human trafficking.
While Justice Eliezer Rivlin agreed that the agreement was problematic he dismissed the petition since the deal was both unique and temporary.
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