Israeli Defense Chiefs Head To Washington For Talks On Syria
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
TEL AVIV (JTA) — A delegation of Israeli defense officials will reportedly visit Washington, D.C. later this week to discuss Israel’s security needs in Syria with their American counterparts.
The talks will focus on Israel’s security needs in Syria and Lebanon and will not address President Donald Trump’s nascent push for Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, a senior White House official told Haaretz, the Israeli daily that broke the news.
Mossad Director Yossi Cohen will head the delegation, which will also include the chief of the Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevi, and the director of the Defense Ministry’s political-security department, Zohar Palti, Haaretz reported.
The Israelis will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Power, Trump’s special Mideast envoy, Jason Greenblatt and others, the White House official said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Office told Haaretz that the talks were part of routine security dialogue between Israel and the United States.
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