Hagel set to visit Israel in two weeks

Spate of trips by high-ranking officials underscores Obama administration’s increasing focus on the Middle East

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will visit Israel on April 21, Army Radio reported on Tuesday.

After a long battle in the Senate over his nomination, Hagel was confirmed as US secretary of defense in late February. In late March, he called his newly appointed Israeli counterpart, Moshe Ya’alon, and confirmed that he would visit sometime in April.

“I look forward to strengthening cooperation between the two defense establishments,” Hagel told Ya’alon.

Opponents have accused Hagel of harboring an anti-Israel bias.

Hagel’s trip will follow that of US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is in Israel this week for the third time in under a month, and that of US President Barack Obama, who came in late March.

The concentration of visits from high-ranking US officials underscores the priority that the Obama administration is placing on the Middle East, particularly in terms of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the Syrian civil war, and Iran’s rogue nuclear program.

During a meeting with Ya’alon’s predecessor, Ehud Barak, in early March, Hagel said he remained committed to Israel’s security, including to its qualitative military edge and continued US support for missile- and rocket-defense systems

On Monday, Kerry met separately with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after having met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Kerry is pursuing a new bid to re-start long-stalled peace talks between Jerusalem and Ramallah.

“I have no illusions about the difficulties,” Kerry said to Peres on Monday. “But you have to believe in the possibilities to be able to get there. You and I believe in them and I’m convinced there is a road ahead.”

Kerry and Netanyahu were set to meet again on Tuesday morning.