This afternoon, the first Israeli assistance airlift was due to fly out to the disaster area in Eastern Turkey with portable homes and buildings. Ankara has requested help from Israel and 30 other countries to repair damage from the strong earthquake that has caused the death of more than 400 people so far.
Turkey is mainly interested in receiving portable homes and buildings to house refugees whose homes were destroyed in the earthquake, as well as equipment for rescuing people trapped under the rubble. The office of Minister of Defense Ehud Barak said that, "After receiving a request from the Turkish government in Ankara, it instructed the defense establishment to fly out special aid to Turkey following the earthquake."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem also confirmed the official Turkish request for aid. For now, large-scale aid organized by the Home Front Command that Israel usually offers in similar situations worldwide is not being sent.
At the beginning of the week, Turkey rejected Israel's offer to assist in rehabilitation efforts at the disaster site. Turkish vice president Bulent Arinc subsequently explained that his country did not refuse Jerusalem's offer. "A refusal of humanitarian aid is not a correct or proper action," he told reporters in Ankara. "We do not currently have the best relations with Israel, but still, to refuse this type of humanitarian aid form the Israeli government in the face of a disaster - that is a wrong and improper response. But it would be completely wrong to say that we refused their offer due to other issues."
In the same tone, a Turkish official told Reuters, "We told all the countries that offered us aid, including Israel, that we are requesting specific items to be used in emergencies, like portable homes and buildings, containers, and tents."
In addition to the international aid, efforts at the disaster site are continuing to locate additional survivors among the rubble left by the earthquake. There are more than 2,000 rescue workers at the site - most from the Red Cross, and the rest are Turkish army personnel and volunteers.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 26, 2011
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