US, Israeli Military Chiefs Stress Cooperation To Tackle Challenges

The Times of Israel reports: Strong ties between Israel and the U.S. will be needed to confront the “instability in the region,” according to Defense Minster Moshe Ya’alon and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., who met in Tel Aviv on Thursday.

“The thing that gives me confidence that we’ll actually be able to deal with these challenges is that we have partners and allies to help us,” Dunford told Ya’alon.

It is the US general’s second official visit to Israel since taking his post in October. During that visit, Gen. Dunford, US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro and US military officials also met with IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and additional representatives of Israel’s defense community.

This visit comes on the heels of Ya’alon’s announcement that a new 10-year military aid package from Washington is set to be finalized “in the coming weeks.”