President Trump
Donald Trump, Ex-Trump Attorney Cohen to Penalty for Impeachment Book Murkowski Says It Would Be ‘Appropriate’ to Prevent Trump from Retiring Man Known as ‘QAnon Shaman’ Asks Trump for Pardon After Storm from Capitol MORE has ordered the Pentagon to include Israel in the US military chain of command for the Middle East, the Department of Defense (DOD) confirmed Friday, a major change intended to ease tensions between Israel and several Arab countries. to reflect.
The shift, which comes as Trump prepares to leave the White House next week, means Israel will be moved from the US European Command to the US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US military policies involving Arab countries. to be. Israel was grouped with European countries for decades due to animosity between Israel and some Arab countries.
“DOD assesses it [Unified Command Plan] every two years and reassess all boundaries and relationships against the operational environment. We are structuring boundaries to minimize risk and protect US interests and partners, ”the Pentagon said in a statement.
The easing of tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors as a result of the recent “Abraham Accords” has “provided the United States with a strategic opportunity to align key partners with shared threats in the Middle East” and “will add to the process. open collaboration opportunities with our US Central Command partners, ”the statement added.
The change was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Making peace agreements between Israel and other countries in the Middle East and North Africa has been a major foreign policy priority of the Trump administration in its last days.
The US has helped negotiate agreements to normalize ties between Jerusalem and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan in agreements marking the first such agreements between Israel and all Arab countries since the 1994 pact with Jordan. the Abraham corresponds to the biblical figure honored in both Judaism and Islam.
Pro-Israeli groups have long pushed for the country’s move to Centcom to boost cooperation between Middle Eastern countries against Iran.
The Jewish Institute for National Security of America called for the move in November because it would “send a strong deterrent message of unity and continued US commitment to regional leadership” and “pave the way for the Pentagon to use Israel more for regional operations. “
It remains to be seen whether the switchover will promote such cooperation. Israelis still have a long unresolved dispute with Palestinians. And Jerusalem has yet to normalize relations with its southern neighbor, Saudi Arabia, the foremost Arab nation in the region.