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Photo: Emil Salman
Moshe Ya'alon at a cabinet meeting
Photo: Emil Salman

Ya'alon heads to Washington for talks on US military aid to Israel

Defense minister on his way to DC to meet with US Defense Secretary and UN Secretary General; Ya'alon is expected to discuss increasing US aid to the Jewish state.

With tensions at a new high between US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon flew on Saturday night for a working visit in the United States.

 

 

There, Ya'alon is to meet with US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and senior officials in the American defense establishment and administration.

 

During their meeting, Ya'alon and Carter are expected to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East, deepening security cooperation between the two countries, and ways to advance the talks on the scope of American aid to Israel.

 

Officials in the Israeli defense establishment are trying to reach an agreement for a significant budget increase against the background of the nuclear deal with Iran and recent developments in Syria and the Middle East in general. 

 

Ya'alon and Defense Secretary Carter in Israel in July (Photo: AFP
Ya'alon and Defense Secretary Carter in Israel in July (Photo: AFP

 

Ya'alon will be the guest of honor at the annual fundraising gala of the Friends of the IDF in the US, where he will speak on behalf of the defense establishment. Joining him will be Lt. Col. Shai Siman Tov, commander of Golani's 12th Battalion, who was critically wounded during Operation Protective Edge and has since recovered. Siman Tov will give a speech at the fundraiser on behalf of wounded soldiers of the IDF.

 

Prior to his departure, Ya'alon said at a tribute ceremony for wounded Armored Corps soldiers, "We will not tolerate attempts to breach the peace in the south of Israel. This is why we have responded forcefully and with a firm hand against Hamas assets, and we are prepared to strike more forcefully if these attempts continue. Hamas is sovereign in the Gaza Strip; as far as we are concerned, it is responsible for everything that happens there."

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.13.16, 10:59
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