10,000-Strong Syrian Refugee Backlog at Turkish Border

More than 200,000 Syrians have fled the savage civil war ripping apart their homeland this year. Now 10,000 are waiting to enter Turkey.

By ChanaYa’ar

First Publish: 9/6/2012, 12:45 PM

Young Syrian refugee on his way to Turkey

Reuters

 

More than 200,000 Syrians have fledthe savage civil war ripping apart their homeland over the past year, with 10,000 waiting to enter Turkey.

Over the past month alone, at least 100,000 fled the country, according to the United Nations – comprising 40 percent of the total number of refugees since the conflict began.

Up to now, more than 80,000 Syrians have been absorbed in Turkey’s southeastern region, where tensions have simmered for decades with its minority Kurdish population.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced last month a decision by Ankara that the country would cap its hospitality to Syrian refugees at 100,000.

All nine Turkish refugee camps along the border at this point are full, and authorities have been scrambling to build four more in order to hold the remaining 20,000 refugees the country is willing to accept.

Meanwhile, at least 10,000 of those are still stuck on the Syrian side of the border, with Turkey’s Red Crescent organization providing services while they wait to cross over.

One official added that Turkey has tightened its criteria for acceptance as well, and is carrying out more stringent security checks on those entering the country, in order toscreen out potential Kurdish rebels who might add to Ankara’s headaches with Kurdish separatists.

In addition, there are concerns that foreign radical Islamist jihadists may be using the porous Turkish border to move in and out of Syria as well.

SOURCE

Tags: Syrian civil war ,Turkey ,Kurdish ,Ankara

Jihadist Tells Iran, Uprising in Jordan Can Help Crush Israel

An Islamic Jihad official tells Iran that a popular uprising in Jordan would break the last part of Israel‘s “security chain.”

 IsraelNationalNews

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

First Publish: 8/12/2012, 3:35 PM

Soldiers patrol Jordanian border

Israel news photo: IDF spokesmen

An Islamic Jihad official told Iran that a popular uprising in Jordan would break the last part of Israel’s security chain.”

Abu Sharif stressed that the recent popular uprisings in the region have harmed the interests of Israel, according to the Iran’s controlled FarsNews Agency.

“These developments (popular uprisings) in the region are in theinterest of the regional nations and against the interests of the Zionist regime and have disturbed the power balance between the supporters and opponents of the Zionist regime,” Abu Sharif said.

He cited the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 as the first of several events “inflicted great damage on Israel.” Abu Sharif continued, “The deterioration of relations between Turkey and Israel was the second blow at the regime and Mubarak’s fall in Egypt was another blow.

“If the regional changes reach Jordan, the Israeli regime will lose the last part of its security chain.”

Jordan and Egypt are Israel’s only neighbors with whom diplomatic relations have been established.

The 1979 treaty with Egypt has survived frigid relations in the latter part of Mubarak’s regime, and the Muslim Brotherhood victories in the Egyptian legislative and presidential elections have left the treaty in questionable terms. Egypt is not about to break it, if for no other reason than its economic value and because of political pressure from the United States, which is a major source of foreign aid to Cairo.

However, the terms of the treaty, particularly the extent of armed Egyptian soldiers in the terrorist-infested Sinai Peninsula, may be challenged by the new regime.

Relations with Jordan have been less noisy, but the majority of non-Jordanian Arabs, descendants from families who fled Israel in previous wars, have created a demographic and political time bomb for King Abdullah II.

To the north, Hizbullah controls southern Lebanon and Syria is engulfed n an all-out civil war. To the south, Israel faces Hamas terrorists in Gaza, and cells of Bedouin, Hamas and  Al Qaeda–linked terrorists in the Sinai.

The jihadists see an uprising in Jordan as leaving Israel surrounded by stated enemies with a common principle of annihilating Israel.

Tags: Arab Spring ,Jihad ,Jordan ,Iran

General Warns: Terror to Move East

As the Egyptian border fence nears completion, Israel should look to its eastern border, Reserves General warns.

 IsraelNationalNews

By Maayana Miskin

First Publish: 6/19/2012, 10:06 AM

Jordan Valley Checkpoint

Flash 90

As Israel completes work on the Sinai border fence, the defense establishment must look to the eastern border as the next threat, IDF General (res.) Tzvika Fogel warned in an interview with Arutz Sheva.

Fogel, who served as the Head of Southern Command, explained that terrorists now operating in Sinai are likely to circumvent the fence by traveling to Jordan.

Fogel called on the government to respond to the imminent threat from Jordan by building a fence on that border, as well. Years ago he called to build a fence on the Egyptian border, he recalled, “They looked at me like I was crazy, and today everyone is rushing to complete it.

“I recommend building the fence on the Jordan border today, or at the latest, tomorrow,” he added.

Terror in Sinai will remain a threat as well, he said. “Defense of 270 kilometers of terrorist activity is nearly impossible,” he noted, comparing the length of the Egyptian border to the relatively small size of Gaza.

Terrorists have created “a second Lebanon” in Gaza, he said. By taking advantage of the current instability in the area, they have drawn the fight away from Gaza itself, he noted, thus avoiding a situation in which Gaza residents suffer due to their leaders’ attacks on Israel.

Ultimately, Israel will be forced to operate within Sinai, he predicted, just as Israel was ultimately drawn into Lebanon.

If attacks from Sinai grow worse, he warned, Egypt is likely to push for more of its troops to be allowed in the area, in violation of its treaty with Israel. Israel will faceinternational pressure to concede.

Israel could prevent future suffering by hitting Gaza terrorist groups hard today, he declared. However, he said, such action is unlikely, because the public tends to see operations in light of the current situation, without taking future threats into account. If he were Prime Minister he would do it anyway, he said, “I know how to do what is good for the people, not what the people want.”