Defense minister: Israel-US security ties strong as ever
After claims that Israeli intel will think twice about sharing info with Trump, Liberman says ‘deep, significant, unprecedented’ relations will continue
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
Yisrael Beytenu leader and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman leads a faction meeting in the Knesset, May 8, 2017. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Wednesday that security relations with the US will remain as strong as ever.
In the wake of claims Tuesday that an Israeli spy’s life was in danger following US President Donald Trump’s leak of classified information to senior Russian officials last week, Liberman wrote on Twitter, “The security relationship between Israel and its great ally the US are deep, significant and unprecedented in their scope and contribution to our strength.”
“That’s how it’s been and that’s how it will continue,” he said.
Yuval Rabin, son of assassinated former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, tweeted sarcastically in reply, “Really convincing….Why do you have to shout about this today of all days?”
A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry on May 10, 2017 shows US President Donald J. Trump (C) speaking with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) and Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak during a meeting at the White House in Washington, DC. (HO / RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / AFP)
Former US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro told ABC TV on Tuesday that the “careless” handling of sensitive information by Trump and his team would “inevitably cause elements of Israel’s intelligence service to demonstrate more caution.”
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The New York Times reported Tuesday that Israel was the country that provided the US with the classified intelligence that Trump shared with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak last Wednesday.
ABC said the leak had put an Israeli spy’s life at risk.
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