Europe nixes landing rights for El Al planes with IDF cargo

[tocqueville]

By Zohar Blumenkrantz, Haaretz Correspondent

A number of European states are refusing to allow El Al cargo planes carrying Israel Defense Forces equipment from stopover landings in their airports.

The refusal came from states considered friendly with Israel, including Britain, Germany and Italy, according to Captain Etai Regev, the chairman of El Al's pilots' union.

Regev sent a letter of complaint on the matter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and to the Defense Ministry, the Finance Ministry, and the Tourism Ministry.

According to Regev, El Al flights bearing heavy loads that arrive from U.S. bases "are not given approval by European states to make stopover landings for refueling, for political reasons.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/758607.html

[Psephos]

1. In personal relationships, this is called being "passive aggressive" n/t

[CollegeDUer]

2. In global affairs, this is the political sanction and boycott

a crafty tool against oppression.

[tocqueville]

3. there are other reasons too : serious security risks

The Bijlmerramp (in English: Bijlmer disaster) was an airplane crash. On October 4, 1992, El Al Flight 1862, a Boeing 747 cargo plane of the Israeli El Al airline crashed into the Groeneveen and Klein-Kruitberg flats in the Bijlmermeer (colloquially "Bijlmer") neighbourhood (part of 'Amsterdam Zuidoost') of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. A total of 43 people were killed, including the plane's crew of three and a nonrevenue passenger in a jumpseat. Many more were injured.

..........................................

The plane's cargo included, amongst other things: bullets, spare parts for AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, spare parts for Patriot missiles and 190 litres of dimethyl methylphosphonate.

Dimethyl methylphosphonate is not classified as toxic, but is harmful if inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin. The primary commercial use of dimethyl methylphosphonate is as a flame retardant. Other commercial uses are a pre-ignition additive for gasoline, anti-foaming agent, plasticizer, stabilizer, textile conditioner, antistatic agent, and an additive for solvents and low-temperature hydraulic fluids. It is a Chemical Weapons Convention schedule 2 chemical used in the synthesis of Sarin nerve gas. The shipment was from a U.S. chemical plant to the Israel Institute for Biological Research under a U.S. Department of Commerce licence.

After the disaster, there were rumours that the Israeli secret service had tried to recover some of the cargo, or the flight recording boxes. The plane, like all Boeing 747s at that time, also contained about 400 kg of depleted uranium as trim weight in the tail, a fact unknown during the recovery effort.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bijlmerramp

[struggle4progress]

4. Maybe they could stop the CIA torture planes, too?

[partylessinOhio]

5. Bravo!

[Hardrada]

6. This is a splendid development.

Blockade the killers and not the victims!

[Ghost Dog]

7. Rough translation of piece in today's El País (Spain) on this:

http://www.elpais.es/articulo/internacional/Olmert/autoriza/otras/700/casas/colonos/cerca/Jerusalen/elpporint/20060905elpepiint_4/Tes/ (last paragraph).

Aerial problems for restocking arms

Following the war in Lebanon, Israel needs to resupply itself with arms. But an unforseen difficulty has arisen. Several European countries have prohibited aircraft of the Israeli flag-carrier El-Al from making refuelling stopovers at their airports. "Aircraft loaded with war materiel from the USA are not receiving permission to refuel", noted Etai Regev president of the pilots' (union). "Therefore", he added, "the aircraft take off from the USA much more lightly loaded and are landing in Israel with a qantity of ammunition much less than we need. This implies a substantial blow to the defense of the State", he concluded.

Problemas aéreos para reponer armamento

Tras la guerra en Líbano, Israel necesita reponer armamento. Pero ha surgido un imprevisto. Varios países europeos han prohibido que los aviones de cargo de El Al, compañía de bandera israelí, hagan escala para reponer combustible en sus aeropuertos. "Los aparatos cargados de suministros bélicos procedentes de EE UU no reciben la autorización para repostar", apuntó Etai Regev, presidente de los pilotos. "Por lo tanto", añadió, "los aviones despegan desde EE UU con una carga mucho más ligera y están aterrizando en Israel con una cantidad de munición menor a la necesitada. Esto supone un golpe sustancial para la defensa del Estado", concluyó.

Ed. BTW, Spanish readers may be interested in this El País interview with Kofi Annan: "La comunidad internacional debe contar con Irán, no aislarlo" - "The International Community should rely on Iran, not isolate it" http://www.elpais.es/articulo/internacional/comunidad/internacional/debe/contar/Iran/aislarlo/elpporint/20060905elpepiint_2/Tes/