Israel’s top general met this week in Bahrain with counterparts from several Arab militaries to discuss security coordination, Axios reported on Wednesday.
The meeting took place under the auspices
of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and was kept under wraps due to
Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to the
report.
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt.
Gen. Herzi Halevi participated in the meeting in Manama alongside
CENTCOM head Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla and senior military figures from
Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.
The meeting signals continued military
dialogue and cooperation between Israel and Arab countries despite the
conflict in Gaza, and comes on the backdrop of the regional effort to
thwart Iran’s destabilizing activities through its terror proxies in
Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and beyond.
U.S. Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, U.S. Central Command commander
Kurilla visited Israel over the weekend at the invitation of Halevi, the Israeli military announced on Tuesday.
Kurilla and Halevi held an operational
situation assessment, discussed recent regional challenges and the
strengthening of the strategic partnership against the Iranian threat,
according to the IDF.
They also discussed developments in the war against Hamas in Gaza and ongoing Hezbollah attacks from Lebanon.
In January 2021, as part of the Trump
administration’s adjustments to the Unified Command Plan (UCP), Israel
was officially transferred from the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) to CENTCOM.
This meant Israel was expected to engage
in security cooperation (e.g., exercises, military sales, operational
planning) with U.S. regional allies and partners also in
CENTCOM—specifically, with moderate Arab states.
The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020, were a precursor to this move and a harbinger of future Arab-Israeli collaboration.
No comments:
Post a Comment