Turkey May Send S-400 System to Back GNA in Libya

The S-400 anti-aircraft missile launching system on display in Kubinka Patriot Park outside Moscow. (Getty Images)
The S-400 anti-aircraft missile launching system on display in Kubinka Patriot Park outside Moscow. (Getty Images)
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Turkey May Send S-400 System to Back GNA in Libya

The S-400 anti-aircraft missile launching system on display in Kubinka Patriot Park outside Moscow. (Getty Images)
The S-400 anti-aircraft missile launching system on display in Kubinka Patriot Park outside Moscow. (Getty Images)

Italy’s itamilradar website revealed that Turkey was continuing its military cargo plane flights to western Libya, amid reports that Ankara may send the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord the Russian S-400 air defense system.

Itamilradar reported that a Turkish Lockheed C-130E (63-13188) and an Airbuys A400M (16-0055) departed Istanbul, carrying weapons and ammunition, and landed in Tripoli’s Mitiga airport on Wednesday.

Their arrival coincided with Libyan activists’ posting on social media of military vehicles traveling towards western Tripoli, speculating that they were transporting air defense systems to the al-Watiya airbase, which was attacked by unknown jets last week.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Sabah newspaper, which is close to the Ankara government, reported that the military may deploy the Russian S-400 system inside Libya. Turkey had purchased the system from Moscow in July 2019.

Sabah reported, however, that Turkey would rather avoid such a provocative move and instead prefers to maintain relations with Russia and the United States. It would not risk jeopardizing ties with one country at the expense of the other.

It said that one of the best options, which the three parties could agree on, was deploying the system in the North African country according to the security and military memorandum of understanding signed between Ankara and the GNA in November 2019.

Experts said that Russia would reject such a proposal because it opposes the re-export of its weapons. Moscow is also a backer of the Libyan National Army, the GNA’s main rival. The US, in turn, will also reject the move because it would be ceding influence to Russia in the region.



Western Wall In Jerusalem Vandalized With Anti-war Message

Laborer injects a type of grout into the gaps and fissures in the stones of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, as part of the Israel Antiquities Authority treatment of the ancient stones, in Jerusalem's Old City February 23, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Laborer injects a type of grout into the gaps and fissures in the stones of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, as part of the Israel Antiquities Authority treatment of the ancient stones, in Jerusalem's Old City February 23, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
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Western Wall In Jerusalem Vandalized With Anti-war Message

Laborer injects a type of grout into the gaps and fissures in the stones of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, as part of the Israel Antiquities Authority treatment of the ancient stones, in Jerusalem's Old City February 23, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Laborer injects a type of grout into the gaps and fissures in the stones of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, as part of the Israel Antiquities Authority treatment of the ancient stones, in Jerusalem's Old City February 23, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

The Western Wall in Jerusalem on Monday was vandalized with graffiti condemning Israel's ongoing war in Gaza, triggering widespread condemnation from religious leaders and politicians.

"There is a holocaust in Gaza," was graffitied in Hebrew on the southern portion of the wall, the holiest site where Jews are allowed to pray.

A similar message was also scrawled on the wall of the Great Synagogue, elsewhere in the city, AFP reported.

Israeli police said a 27-year-old suspect had been arrested and would appear in court later on Monday, with the police requesting that his detention be extended.

The incident sparked immediate outrage in Israel, with the Western Wall's Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch calling it a "desecration".

"A holy place is not a place to express protests... The police must investigate this action, track down the criminals responsible for the desecration and bring them to justice," Rabinovitch said in a statement.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir -- who oversees the country's law enforcement agencies -- said he was shocked and vowed that the police would act "with lightning speed".

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also weighed in, saying the perpetrators "forgot what it means to be Jewish".

Sharp condemnation also came from the opposition.

Former defense minister Benny Gantz, now an opposition leader, called it "a crime against the entire Jewish people".

The Western Wall lies in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem, which Israeli forces captured during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.