TEL AVIV: The head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) overseeing all American troops in the Middle East, General Michael Erik Kurilla, met Wednesday in Tel Aviv with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, just two days after the Israeli parliament passed controversial legislation called the “Reasonableness Clause” restricting the powers of the apex court and triggering concerns in the country over the readiness of its military.
Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement that that the meeting also included head of the IDF Operations Division Oded Basiuk, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, head of the Political-Security Division at the Ministry of Defense Dror Shalom, and IDF attache in Washington Hedi Silberman.
The statement added that in their meeting, Gallant and Kurilla exchanged views on the security challenges in the region, focusing on Iranian activities throughout the Middle East, including training, funding, and weapons transfers to militant organizations in Lebanon and Syria.
It also mentioned a telephone discussion between Gallant and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin the day before, in which the progress in the security-military coordination between the two countries was discussed.
Disagreemnets between US and Israel
US President Joe Biden and his top officials have expressed concerns over the controversial law adopted by the Israeli parliamnet on Monday and the government pushing through its judicial reforms plan despite heavy demonstrations against it.
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In his talks with Austin on Tuesday, Gallant referred to these concerns, saying that Israel is a strong democracy and would remain so in the future.
The disagreement between the US and Israel over the reforms plan adds to several disagreements between the two nations, including the composition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, which includes far-right members and Parliament members and pro-settlement policies.
