ZAGREB, December 28, 2018 - The US Congress has okayed Israel's sale of F-16 fighter jets to Croatia, whereby the whole procedure has been returned to the State Department for consideration, Večernji List daily said on its website on Thursday. The paper says that members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs did not state, within the legal deadline of 15 days, any objections to the F-16 sale to Croatia, whereby Congress formally approved the proposed transfer of US weapons to a third country.

The paper says this is an important step in the sale but that it does not mean the transfer has been approved. Under the law, Congress approved the sale of the original jets, as they were when the US delivered them to Israel, without the Israeli modifications, and their value was 135 million dollars.

Earlier this month, the US Axios portal said the US was blocking Israel's sale of 12 US-made F-16 Barak jets to Croatia that were about 30 years ago, which Israel upgraded and which would cost Croatia 2.9 billion kuna over a ten-year period.

The US transfers US-made military equipment to partners via the Foreign Military Sales programme, as part of which the buyer commits to requesting Washington's permission in writing before changing the end use, modification or further sale, as regulated via the Third Party Transfer process.

Israel upgraded the old US aircraft with advanced Israeli-made systems in order to persuade the Croatians to buy the jets, Channel 10 has said, adding that the Americans have accused Israel of unfair conduct and making money at America's expense and that, according to Washington, Israel cannot sell to third parties without US approval.

Senior Croatian officials have emphasised several times that they will insist on all the terms of the agreement on the purchase of F-16s with Israel being honoured or a new tender for the purchase of new aircraft will be issued.

US ambassador to Croatia Robert Kohorst said earlier this month that Israel needed to accept the technical requirements so that the US could approve the sale of the 12 fighter jets, adding that this was about who owned the technology and intellectual property rights. "The Israelis need to accept the technical requirements and as soon as that's done we can move forward and the sale can go through," Kohorst said then.

According to Kohorst, "the United States has consistently said what the technical requirements are for more than two years and everyone should have known that these are the technical requirements and so it's a bit of a surprise to me that there is this slowdown right now."

He also explained that "the debate is who will pay for the conversion because the USA and its contractors Lockheed Martin have to do the work because they're the ones who own the technology and intellectual property."

Kohorst said he is sure Israel made its offer in good faith, adding that Croatia, the United States and Israel are "great allies" and will resolve this problem.

More news on the relations between the United States and Croatia can be found in our Politics section.

The sale of Israeli military aeroplanes to Croatia has been one of the main topics in the media for the last ten days. Croatia has decided to buy 12 F-16 Barak aircraft from Israel. However, since aircraft were produced in the United States, the sale demands US permission, which is where it gets complicated. The planes were built in the 1980s, and the Israelis have done many changes in the meantime. The question is whether the US will allow such a sale to proceed. On the other hand, Croatia has said it only wanted Israeli aircraft F-16 Barak, meaning the modified planes. The deal is in question, and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has now commented on it, reports Index.hr on December 17, 2018.

He said it was too early to say anything, as reported by Barak Ravid, an Israeli journalist who about ten days ago first published the news about the US decision not to allow the sale.

“There are negotiations between the countries, and I am personally involved. It is too early to make a statement. We are working on this," Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said, referring to the negotiations between Israel and the United States. Netanyahu allegedly talked about this problem with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović last week.

In the meantime, President Grabar-Kitatović told the media that Croatia had to get the planes it ordered. “We considered absolutely all aspects and all the offers, based on the recommendations of the expert committee that has dealt with it and said that the Israeli bid was the best,” the president said. “We have accepted that opinion and have recommended to the government to proceed with the job. Of course, the final decision is up to the government. It is important to emphasise that the aeroplanes we have agreed on must be the ones delivered to Croatia,” concluded Grabar-Kitarović.

Defence Minister Damir Krstičević defended the deal last week and told reporters that Croatia, as an ally and a friend of the United States and Israel, would wait as long as needed for them to agree. “You know there was a public tender. Croatia must receive the planes which it ordered. The experts defined what kind of planes we need to ensure that Croatia can protect peace and security, and the state of Israel has given its offer,” said Krstičević.

He did not want to say whether Israel had deceived Croatia if Croatian negotiators were not told that Israel did not have a US sales permission. "The process is underway, we will see," he said.

More news on the relations between Croatia and Israel can be found in our Politics section.

Translated from Index.hr.

ZAGREB, December 11, 2018 - Commenting on the latest developments regarding the purchase of F-16 fighter jets from Israel, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday that "the government does not consider the situation to be in any way burdensome for Croatia."

"Last year we sent special delegations to both Israel and the United States and before the government made its decision, there had been no indications of any problem. The burden of obtaining consent from the United States for the delivery of the planes was taken on by the Israeli side. Croatia did everything in good faith, in line with the rules and tender procedure. At this moment, this is a matter of relations between Israel and the United States," Plenković said.

"We will either buy the planes that were originally offered or the tender will be declared null and void, there is no dilemma about it and any other solution .... is out of the question," Plenković said.

Asked if this was a stain for Croatia as a small country depending on the will of big powers, Plenković said that such an attitude "trivialises this topic."

"I will not allow that to happen. As far as the team who was working on this is concerned, things were done professionally and at the moment the decision was made, there were no indications of any problem," Plenković said.

Israel committed itself in writing that it would obtain the US government's approval for the delivery of fighter jets to Croatia and that is exclusively Israel's responsibility, the Croatian Defence Ministry said last Friday and added that if any official notice were to arrive, the public would be informed.

Earlier that day the US Embassy in Zagreb said that it was cooperating with Croatia and Israel on finding an acceptable solution that would enable the confirmation of the agreement on the purchase of Israeli F-16 fighter jets.

The US Embassy said that it had been cooperating with Israel for more than a year regarding the details of the proposed agreement on the purchase of the jets.

The Israeli media have reported that Washington is angry because it believes that by upgrading the electronic systems in the US-made aircraft, Israel has unfairly profited from their sale to Croatia.

The Croatian government in March decided to buy 12, about 30-year-old F-16 Barak fighter jets from Israel. The planes will cost Croatia 2.9 billion kuna over a period of ten years.

More news on Croatia’s military can be found in our Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 8, 2018 - The US Ambassador to Croatia, Robert Kohorst, commented on Friday on the problem regarding the sale of modified Israeli F-16 fighter jets to Croatia, saying that Israel has to accept the set technical requirements for the American side to agree to the sale of 12 fighter jets, and adding that this debate has to do with who owns the rights to the technical and intellectual property.

"The Israelis need to accept the technical requirements and as soon as that's done, we can move forward and the sale can go through," Kohorst said at a farewell ceremony for the outgoing Israeli Ambassador Zina Kalay Kleitman.

According to Kohorst, "the United States has consistently said what the technical requirements are for more than two years and everyone should have known that these are the technical requirements and so it's a bit of a surprise to me that there is this slowdown right now."

He also explained that "the debate is who will pay for the conversion because the USA and its contractors Lockheed Martin have to do the work because they're the ones who own the technology and intellectual property."

"Well, I'm not involved in the negotiations, and I don't think they really have a choice because this is intellectual property of Lockheed Martin and they need to give their approval to do the transfer," the US ambassador told reporters.

Asked whether Israel had withheld information that it had inbuilt its own sophisticated electronic system, Kohorst said: "I don't know what their negotiation strategy was." "I'm sure that they in good faith made an offer," he said and underscored Croatia, the United States and Israel are "great allies" and will resolve this problem.

Israel's ambassador said that she hoped a positive outcome would be found in the interest of the United States and Israel for the technical problem to be resolved. We are all interested in finding a solution and I'm convinced that it will be so, Ambassador Kleitman said, calling for patience. I hope that everything will be resolved by the end of the year.

Her four-year term expires a month from now.

For more on Croatia’s attempts to buy the fighter jets, click here.

ZAGREB, December 7, 2018 - The US Embassy in Zagreb said on Friday that it was cooperating with Croatia and Israel on finding an acceptable solution that would enable the confirmation of an agreement on the purchase of Israeli F-16 fighter jets by Croatia, following reports in the Israeli media that the US was blocking the F-16 sale.

Israeli media have reported that US Secretary of Defence James Mattis is not allowing Israel to sell 12 F-16 fighter jets to Croatia. The US administration must give its consent to the country to which it has sold its planes if that country wants to sell them to a third country.

The US Embassy said in a statement today that it has been cooperating with Israel for more than a year regarding the details of the proposed agreement on the purchase of F-16 jets. The US side says that during the talks it has been consistent and clear on technical conditions under which it would be willing to agree to the conclusion of the agreement. The embassy said that it was currently cooperating with Israel and Croatia on agreeing an acceptable option that meets Croatia's needs for the set time period.

The Israeli media have reported that Washington is angry because it believes that by upgrading the electronic systems in the US-made aircraft, Israel has unfairly profited from their sale to Croatia.

The Croatian government in March decided to buy 12, about 30-year-old F-16 Barak fighter jets from Israel. Previously, in the summer of 2017 it sent a request for the purchase of aircraft to five countries - the USA, Sweden, Greece, South Korea and Israel. In October 2017, bids were opened and the Israeli offer was selected as the most favourable.

Croatian Defence Minister Damir Krstičević said on Friday that Croatia had not received any official notification that the USA was blocking the delivery of Israeli F-16 jets to Croatia.

In a statement to the press, the minister said that Croatia was not familiar with the information published by Israeli media that US Secretary of Defence James Mattis was not allowing Israel to sell 12 F-16 fighter jets to Croatia.

"The news about that was published on Thursday evening. Croatia has not received any official notification. When we receive it, we will inform the public accordingly," Krstičević told reporters during a visit to Split.

Krstičević recalled that the US government had given Israel permission to offer the Israeli F-16 jets to Croatia. "We have a document to that effect. In its bid, Israel undertook to deliver to Croatia aircraft that is compatible with NATO and obliged itself to ensure that the extension of the planes' service life complies with the original manufacturer's criteria. Delivery, too, is the responsibility of the State of Israel. Based on those documents and the tender, we made the decision on the purchase of the multipurpose fighter jets and the process was legal and transparent," said Krstičević.

The Croatian government on March 29 unanimously adopted a decision to buy 12 F-16 C/D Barak jets that were about 30 years old. Croatia will pay 2.9 billion kuna for the planes over a period of ten years.

For more on the Croatian air force, click here.

ZAGREB, December 3, 2018 - A ceremony of menorah lighting in Zagreb Main Square on Sunday evening was held to celebrate this year's eight-day Hanukkah holiday in Croatia, with the president of the Jewish organisation "Menora", Rabbi Pinhas Zaklos, and Mayor Milan Bandić kindling together the eight lights.

The Hanukkah lights on a nine-branched menorah, or 'Hannukah candelabrum', are kindled every night of Hanukkah (Chanukah).

Earlier on Sunday, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković extended their best wishes to the Jewish faithful on the occasion of Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights.

Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, and may occur from late November to late December according to the Gregorian calendar.

Jewish families around the world will gather Sunday evening to celebrate Hanukkah and light the first candles on their menorahs. The holiday celebrates the rededication of the second temple in Jerusalem following a massacre ordered by the Greek-Syrian King Antiochus IV that initially pushed Jews from the city.

The celebrations begin December 2 and last through December 10.

The 10th Israeli Film Week also started on Sunday in Zagreb's Kaptol Boutique cinema and will run through December 6, featuring ten recent feature films and two documentaries.

The films talk about everyday lives, loves, growing up, faith, conflict, all topics which occupy Israelis and are close to people around the world, Mirjana Slaj-Froelich, cultural attaché of the Israeli Embassy, which organises the event, said on Friday.

Israeli cinema is relatively young, films began to be made shortly after the establishment of the State of Israel, and the first film lab was founded by enthusiasts in an abandoned wood shed in 1949, she said.

Since then, many films have been made, achieving more or less success at home and abroad, and Israeli cinema began to blossom at the turn of the millennium, she added.

Entry to all screenings is free.

For more on the relations between Croatia and Israel, click here.

ZAGREB, September 14, 2018 - The late Antun and Katarina Šragalj of Vrbovsko, who saved Jewish girl Lea Gostl in World War II, were named on Friday as Righteous Among the Nations, the highest honorific bestowed by the State of Israel on non-Jews who during WWII saved Jews, risking their own lives.

ZAGREB, August 10, 2018 - Croatia's Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned missile attacks on Israel from Gaza and called for ending violence.

ZAGREB, August 6, 2018 - The fact that Israeli fighter jets and their pilots took part in a parade to celebrate the 1995 Operation Storm triggered harsh criticism from Belgrade.

ZAGREB, August 3, 2018 - Ahead of the planned participation of Israel's F-16 Barak fighter jets in the celebrations marking the 23rd anniversary of Operation Storm, Croatian Air Force squadron commander Christian Jagodić and the commander of Israel's Ramat David Airbase conducted a joint flight in one of Croatia's MiG-21 fighter jets at the Pleso airbase on Friday.