High-profile Israeli security officials visited Washington on Thursday to meet with Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor to President Joe Biden, The New Arab reported.
Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer were reportedly hosted at the White House, where they discussed “enhanced coordination” to “prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon”.
#Lebanon Army Declares State of ‘Maximum Alert’ following Israeli Threats https://t.co/0C8VbzTeLn via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/WXljmeVmJX
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 2, 2023
They also discussed Israel’s determination to “counter threats from Iran and its proxies”, according to a White House-issued readout of the meeting.
The meeting came after Iran announced its plans to install its most advanced air defense system to Bashar al-Assad to deter Israeli airstrikes against its Syrian-based proxies.
In the meeting on Thursday, Sullivan agreed with Israel’s concerns over Iran and discussed the shared concerns of both countries over the deepening alliance between Russia and Iran and the importance of supporting Ukraine, including against Iranian drones.
Sullivan also stressed the importance of Israel “to take additional steps to improve the lives of Palestinians, critical to realizing a more peaceful, prosperous, and integrated region”, the readout states.
Report: Israeli Army, Settlers Carried out 492 Attacks against Palestinians in May https://t.co/QYCcNtT13x via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/Syn1FUulqA
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 2, 2023
The head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency Ronen Bar is also in the US this week for talks at the White House.
The main topic of discussion is Israel’s growing concern about the “security situation” in the occupied West Bank and the “deterioration of the Palestinian Authority”, according to Israeli sources.
This comes off the back of the US saying it was “deeply troubled” by the Israeli government’s potentially destabilizing decision to allow Jewish settlers to return to a previously abandoned illegal settlement in the West Bank.
(The New Arab, PC, SOCIAL)
