Israel doesn’t ‘need’ Kürecik protection

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

A leading member of the ruling Justice and Development’s Party (AKP) refuted opposition claims that the NATO radar base in eastern Turkey and the NATO Patriot missiles to be deployed on Turkish territory against threats from Syria are actually aimed at protecting Israel against Iran.

“These claims are met with smiles from professionals,” AKP deputy Volkan Bozkır, the head of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission, told Anatolia news agency. “When Israel has such a security system that it calls ‘Iron Dome,’ there is no answer to the question: ‘Why would an additional facility be established in Kürecik for protecting Israel?’” Bozkır said.

He stated that Israel’s security system was able to deflect 90 percent of the 1,500 missiles sent from Gaza.
As part of the NATO system, Turkey agreed to allow the U.S. military to install a special X-band radar at a base in Kürecik, Malatya, in eastern Turkey.

‘Irrelevant scenarios’
“It’s obvious why the radar system was placed in Kürecik, as well as where the Patriots will be located, the missile inventory in Syria and the distance from which these [missiles] pose a threat,” Bozkır said. “Understanding all of this, I cannot accept the creation of irrelevant scenarios.” Late last month, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu claimed that the Kürecik base was aimed at protecting Israel.