From the Liveblog of
Sunday, July 17, 2022
Gantz holds meeting with visiting CENTCOM chief
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Defense Minister Benny Gantz meets the chief of the US Central Command, Michael Erik Kurilla.
“During my first meeting with CENTCOM Commander General Kurilla, I emphasized the unparalleled defense relations between Israel and the US, as reflected during the historic POTUS visit. I also highlighted CENTCOM’s important role in maintaining regional peace and stability,” Gantz says on Twitter.
“Our discussion today focused on developing regional challenges, including Iran’s destabilizing activities via proxies and in the maritime arena. We also covered opportunities to deepen military ties and to facilitate cooperation with regional partners,” he adds.
Earlier, Kurilla was greeted by military chief Aviv Kohavi.
“The joint interests of the United States and Israel and the continued confrontation with security challenges in the Middle East are a major reason for the close cooperation between the United States military and the IDF,” Kohavi says.
“In this context, we are advancing an innovative defense plan that will provide a broad and accurate operational response to the various threats in the area,” he adds.
