Jerusalem News (3 March, 2015, 12 Adar, 5775)
Contents:
1. Putin's Cyprus deal gives Russia a foothold in the EU: British MPs blast island's decision to let Moscow's navy use its ports
2. Obama Official: IAF Shoot-down Threat Story 'Totally False' By Mark Langfan
3. Former IDF Chief Gantz Opposed Iran Strike
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1. Putin's Cyprus deal gives Russia a foothold in the EU: British MPs blast island's decision to let Moscow's navy use its ports
Author(s):Â Ian Drury, Home Affairs Correspondent
Source: Daily Mail.    Article date: February 27th, 2015
http://unitycoalitionforisrael.org/uci_2014/?p=13381
Russia has gained a military foothold in Europe after Vladimir Putin signed a controversial deal with Cyprus to dock warships there.
British MPs said Nicosia's decision to let the Russian navy, including heavily armed frigates, use its ports for counter-terrorism and anti-piracy was 'worrying and disappointing'.
Cyprus, an EU member, thrashed out the agreement despite already hosting two British military bases and 3,200 troops. President Putin insisted the deal 'should not cause worries anywhere'.
But Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, who was visiting Moscow, hinted Russian warplanes could also be allowed to use a military airbase in Paphos, on the south-west coast of the island.
The deal raised eyebrows as tensions between the West and Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine continue to rise.
It will be watched warily by the UK, which has led calls for a string of punishing economic sanctions against Moscow for arming pro-Kremlin separatists who have taken over huge swathes of territory.
On Tuesday, Britain announced it would deploy 75 troops to Ukraine as trainers, a move certain to have infuriated Putin. Russian bombers have recently buzzed UK airspace in a show of strength.
The latest agreement fuelled speculation that the Kremlin had engineered the deal by putting together a multibillion-pound package to bail out debt-ridden Cyprus.
The two countries, which have long had close economic ties, signed protocols including fresh financial deals between Cyprus and the Central Bank of Russia.
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2. Obama Official: IAF Shoot-down Threat Story 'Totally False' By Mark Langfan
Subject: Re:
JN-1135. Jerusalem News
http://hebrewnations.com/features/jn2/jn1135.html
#1. Report: Obama threatened to shoot down Israeli jets by Pamella Geller
From: ogivethanks
 Shalom, Obama claims the statements about shooting down Israel jets are
false.
Obama Official: IAF Shoot-down Threat Story 'Totally False' By Mark Langfan
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/192002#.VPWUIJtd4dV
Extract:
In a statement to The Washington Times early Sunday evening, a senior Obama administration official said that a Kuwaiti report, cited by Arutz Sheva, that President Obama threatened to shoot down a possible IAF attack against Iran's nuclear facilities are 'totally false.'
On Sunday, Arutz Sheva quoted the Bethlehem-based Palestinian news service Ma'an, which quoted a Kuwaiti newspaper ' Al-Jarida' as saying that President Obama threatened, last year, to use the US military to shoot down Israeli fighter jets if they attempted to destroy Iranian nuclear facilities.
The Obama Administration, according to the Washington Times, 'denounced' the Al-Jarida story later Sunday as 'flatly untrue.'
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3. Former IDF Chief Gantz Opposed Iran Strike
http://hamodia.com/2015/03/02/former-idf-chief-gantz-opposed-iran-strike/
Monday, March 2, 2015 | "Â Â Â Â "
Extract:
YERUSHALAYIM (Hamodia Staff) - Recently retired IDF chief Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz personally blocked plans for a military strike on Iran's nuclear installations, Gantz indicated in an interview with Israeli media.
Gantz said that plans for a military strike on Iran, though advanced, never reached an operative stage.
In 2012, Prime Minister Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Ehud Barak were reportedly on the verge of ordering a strike on Iran. The plan was scuttled, however, due to the fierce opposition of then-Mossad Head Meir Dagan and then-Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.
According to one media report, Netanyahu and Barak went so far as to put the military on war alert, before drawing back from the edge.