CENTCOM deputy promoted to fill post tasked with boosting Israel-PA security ties

The Pentagon announces that US President Donald Trump has approved the promotion of Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Sean M. Salene to the rank of lieutenant general in order to head the Office of the US Security Coordinator in Jerusalem.

In his new role, Saline will be responsible for boosting security ties between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The position has been filled since 2021 by Lt. Gen. Mike Fenzel. Fenzel is stepping down later this month.

Saline currently serves as deputy commander of US Central Command.

While there had been a push in recent years to downgrade the required rank of the US Security Coordinator position as a cost-cutting measure, a bipartisan group of lawmakers managed to reverse the plan. However, the Trump administration has moved the office into the US Embassy in Jerusalem, which requires the security coordinator to report directly to the US ambassador, limiting the office’s independence.

The office of the USSC in Jerusalem was established in 2005 as part of the Bush administration’s Roadmap for Peace. The international team includes representatives from the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, Poland and Bulgaria, but it is headed by the US, whose representative is also the highest-ranked in the group.

Since its inception, the USSC has focused on reforming and strengthening the PA security forces and bolstering that force’s coordination with Israel, which the IDF has long touted as critical for stability in the region.

Supporters of maintaining the three-star rank say it also has allowed the USSC to gain access to high-level officials in Washington, Jerusalem and Ramallah who would not take the post as seriously if it were filled by a colonel.

The USSC has proven particularly essential during times of crisis in Israeli-Palestinian ties. When the PA announced the severing of its security coordination with Israel, amid 2017 tensions surrounding the Temple Mount, the USSC was left as the only channel through which the sides were able to communicate in order to prevent further deterioration of relations. The USSC also facilitates the transfer of much-needed weaponry to the PA security forces, serving as an assuring presence for skeptical onlookers in Israel, whose tacit approval is needed for such handovers to go through.