I couldn’t agree more with what Yaalon says below. The United States, among other countries, should not stand for Turkey openly backing terrorism while being in NATO. It’s long past time they were kicked out of NATO.
He says much more below:
TIMES OF ISRAEL – In perhaps the most openly hostile comments made publicly by a senior Israeli official against former ally Turkey, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Monday said Istanbul, along with Qatar, was openly backing terrorism.
Ya’alon, speaking at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, expressed outrage that the international community would allow nations to back terrorism while remaining full members of respected international organizations such as the UN and, in Turkey’s case, NATO.
“The command center of Hamas’s overseas operations sits in Istanbul. Saleh al-Arouri is the man sitting there,” he said, referring to the senior Hamas official, alleged by Israel to have played a key role in orchestrating the abduction and killing of three Israeli teens in June, who is based in the Turkish capital and enjoys the support of local officials.
“Where is the world on this matter?” Ya’alon asked. “When speaking about the war on terror, [you must] start by whether you are willing to accept such phenomena — such countries who support terrorism and terror activity without hiding it.”
Ya’alon claimed the international community was utterly unprepared to deal with the growing threat of terrorism, adding that he hoped world leaders would view the Islamic State’s horrific actions in Syria and Iraq as a wake up call to take action against terrorist threats.
Ya’alon stated that he believed terrorism could be rooted out completely, but in order to reach such a goal countries across the globe, Israel included, would need to rely on close cooperation — both on an intelligence and operational level.
“The international system is not organized correctly in order to cope with terrorism, but perhaps Islamic State will spur the free world to fight against the phenomenon,” the defense minster said.
“In the end, terror will hit the countries that support terrorism,” he continued. “We need international cooperation, and we are ready to contribute.”