Benny Gantz gave a few details about what he called the “Middle East Air Defense Alliance,” or MEAD, testifying before the powerful Knesset Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense – including other member states or the types of operations it has conducted. The announcement marked the first time Israel had openly recognized a regional military alliance with Arab partners. “Last year, with my colleagues at the Pentagon and [Biden] “We are launching an extensive program to strengthen cooperation between Israel and the countries of the region under American auspices,” Gantz wrote on Twitter on Monday morning, according to a translation of the post. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said President Biden’s visit to Israel next month “will support this process.” “The plan is already in place and has prevented Iranian attempts to challenge Israel and other countries in the Middle East,” said Gantz, who noted that Iran and its proxies were trying to launch missiles, rockets and cruise missiles. UAV. [drones]. » In recent years, Israel has established a number of partnerships, some openly and some covertly, with Gulf countries threatened by Iran. During his testimony, Gantz said that President Biden’s visit to Israel next month “will support this process.” Biden is also scheduled to visit the West Bank and Saudi Arabia between July 13th and 16th. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Post about the US role in the alliance. Ganz’s comments come just over a month after he met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington. Yoel Guzansky, a Gulf expert at the Institute for National Security Studies, a think tank in Tel Aviv, told the Associated Press that Gantz’s new partnership should not be compared to regional mutual defense alliances such as NATO, as “no one expects Israel and the Arab countries to defend each other in case of an Iranian attack. Instead, he said, countries have begun sharing information, such as early warning radar information, under the umbrella of the United States. The United States and Israel are building a Middle East air defense coalition that has already prevented attacks from Iran.Azad Lashkari / Reuters Guzansky added that it was unlikely that the Arab partners would be publicly recognized because of the sensitivities surrounding co-operation with Israel. However, he said it was an “interesting development”. “If we look at the positive side, it is the beginning and from that many things can emerge,” he said. “This is the first phase.” With Post cables
