Is Jordan Flying With «Israeli» Air Force While Gaza Is Being Bombed?

By Staff, Electronic Intifada

The death toll in the Gaza Strip exceeded 20 by Wednesday as the “Israeli” entity continued the bombing campaign it launched with the extrajudicial execution a day earlier of a senior commander of the Islamic Jihad resistance group.

Jordan has deplored the “Israeli” attacks as an aggression against innocent civilians.

But as Palestinians in Gaza braced for what could be a prolonged “Israeli” assault claiming many more lives, evidence emerged that Jordanian warplanes are taking part in military exercises alongside the “Israeli” entity’s air force.

The claim was made by a Dutch aviation analyst who posted evidence on Twitter indicating that Royal Jordanian Air Force F-16 warplanes are informally involved in the Blue Flag 2019 exercise hosted by the entity.

It has been bolstered by an “Israeli” military reporter.

Maps and data posted by the Dutch analyst, citing the flight tracking service FlightRadar24.com, show Jordanian military aircraft flying intermittently along the Jordan-“Israeli” entity border and over “Israeli”-occupied territory since 3 November, with additional flights reported Wednesday.

Shai Levy, a military reporter with the Israeli news website Mako, posted what he claimed was a photo of a Jordanian warplane at Israel’s Ovda airbase.

Formally the countries taking part in Blue Flag 2019 are the “Israeli” entity, Germany, Italy, Greece and the United States.

“Officially, [Royal Jordanian Air Force] is not a participant in the exercises, but evidence is strong,” the Dutch analyst observed. “I don’t expect anyone to officially confirm this.”

Tensions between the two countries have increased recently after “Israel” subjected two Jordanian citizens to prolonged detention without charge or trial.

In 2015, “Israeli” media reported that Jordanian air force pilots paid a “working visit” to the “Israeli” entity.

That year, “Jordanian fighter pilots trained closely with their ‘Israeli’ counterparts at a US-hosted air force exercise,” according to The Times of “Israel”, citing a US official.

The United Arab Emirates, which maintains a secret, though increasingly open, alliance with the “Israeli” entity, is known to have previously taken part in military exercises with the “Israeli” air force.

Requests for comment have been sent to the office of the Jordanian prime minister, who doubles as defense minister, the foreign ministry and the Jordanian embassy in Washington at their publicly listed email addresses.

This article will be updated with any response.