During his visit to Israel, which will begin Wednesday afternoon, US President Joe Biden will push for deeper, and more public, security partnerships between the Jewish state and Arab countries, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing senior administration officials.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
In recent months, Bahrain has been working with the Mossad and the Shin Bet security agency to train its own intelligence officers, according to a senior Bahraini official.
Israel has also agreed to provide the small Gulf country with both drones and anti-drone systems, the official said.
Additionally, an Israeli naval officer works with Bahraini and American officials trying to contain Iran's military ambitions. In Morocco, Israeli soldiers recently played a role in America's largest regular military exercise in Africa. Israeli sailors have trained with Arab counterparts in the Red Sea.
And in the most sensitive effort yet, according to the Wall Street Journal, Israeli and Arab military officials confer together at US Central Command – which oversees the Middle East –as they try to develop a new air-defense pact to protect like-minded countries from threats posed by Iran and its allies.
Joseph Votel, a retired Army general who served as head of CENTCOM until 2019, told the Wall Street Journal that "Israel has the potential to raise the game of all the Arab Gulf partners by virtue of their seriousness, proficiency, and innovativeness."
Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank critical of Iran, told the Wall Street Journal: "It appears to be the dawn of a new chapter in Middle East security. The key now is for these actors to institutionalize these gains."
Since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, Israeli defense officials have held 150 meetings with their Gulf state counterparts, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said last week.
The pace of the meetings accelerated dramatically in the first six months of this year, according to one Israeli official.
Israel has sold more than $3 billion in arms to the Gulf nations, Gantz said. In 2021, 7% of Israel's military sales went to Abraham Accords countries, according to the Defense Ministry.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
