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Turkey has closed its airspace to Israeli military flights following a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship, the Turkish prime minister and officials said Monday. Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Toronto that Turkey imposed the ban after the May 31 raid on a Turkish ship that was part of a six-vessel international aid flotilla, according to the state-run Anatolia news agency. The prime minister, who is in Canada to attend a summit of the Group of 20 major industrial and developing nations, did not elaborate. On Sunday, Israel's Yediot Ahronot newspaper reported that Turkey had not allowed a...

Over the last three years, Israel has been revising its civil defense plans, and how to deal with the growing arsenal of rockets and ballistic missiles aimed at it. The latest change is the announcement that the military is dispersing its stocks of supplies, equipment and spare parts to a larger number of (better protected) locations. For the last two years, the government has been constantly updating and revising a war planning document. This plan assumes a future war with Syria, and gives the local officials an idea of what to expect. Currently, the Israelis estimate that there would be...

Hamas has submitted a request for a Chinese-origin cruise missile deployed by another Iranian proxy, Hizbullah. Israeli military sources asserted that Hamas was seeking to acquire the Chinese-origin C-802 anti-ship missile from Iran. The sources said Hamas has determined that the C-802 would comprise a deterrent against Israel Navy operations along the Gaza coast. "Hamas believes that the Israel Navy would significantly reduce its presence [because of the C-802] and operate farther away from the Gaza coast," a military source said. The sources said Hamas has been briefed by Hizbullah on the C-802. Hizbullah, aided by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard...

Ahhh, one can rhapsodize about the glamorous nature of Israeli women forever. If only they didn't end up being Jewish mothers. Ohhhh, I'm just kidding. In terms of beauty, what separates Israeli women from their lovely Arab and Persian counterparts, true beauties in their own right? What has elevated the women of Israel above their Mideast cousins, allowing them to reach the highest echelons of Earthly Loveliness? The answer is an Inverse Diaspora. The reverse migration of Jews from around the world back to Israel, their homeland for 3000 years. While the homogenized nature of Arab and Persian society includes...

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IDF short of crucial combat equipmentWealthy soldiers purchase equipment privately, while less fortunate colleagues make do without. Itay Asher The IDF is suffering major shortages of combat equipment, due to budgetary restraints. Many units are not provided with sufficient or adequate supplies of expensive equipment such as laser sights and electronic gear for night fighting and combat in built up areas. As a result stores specializing in military equipment are doing a roaring business. Every Friday soldiers on leave flock to them with their parents, buying sophisticated laser-sights ($350), that can make the difference between killing or being killed when...

<p>JERUSALEM — Young women who are drafted into the Israeli military will be barred from most combat duties because of a medical study that has determined they are, after all, the weaker sex.</p> <p>The finding comes at a time when the army already is stretched thin. Several hundred reserve soldiers were called up yesterday to serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip because of rising violence and fears of a new wave of Palestinian suicide bombings.</p>

IDF won’t buy IMI Tavor rifle for lack of budget Israel Military Industries: Statements that the Tavor is the best rifle in the world cannot be deposited at the bank. Dror Marom 4 Feb 03 16:39 The IDF is not equipping its combat units with Israel Military Industries’ (IMI) Tavor assault rifle at this time. The reason is a shortage in the defense establishment’s shekel budget. The shortage puts in doubt the IDF’s plan to equip its combat troops with the assault rifle developed by IMI’s small arms division. Only a few rifles have been purchased to date for use...

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat condemned a Jerusalem suicide bombing, trying to meet U.S. condition for a meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell, as Israeli forces Saturday moved into more West Bank villages and shelled Palestinian offices. Meanwhile, Palestinians surveyed the devastation in some of the areas hardest hit in Israel's two-week-old West Bank offensive. One man in Nablus said eight relatives, including a pregnant woman, were crushed when Israeli bulldozers demolished a building near their home. Israel said it was unaware of the deaths. Powell, who is visiting Israel on a mission to bring about a halt to the...