Benny Gantz to leave for Washington to meet with Mark Esper

Gantz said that he will be discussing “very important issues relating to Israel’s security in the next few years,” with Esper and other US security.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF

OCTOBER 22, 2020 00:13

Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz took off for Washington on Wednesday to meet with US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and other US security officials.

Gantz is expected to return from his trip on Friday. Wednesday’s trip comes one month after Gantz’s previous meeting with Esper, where he discussed Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME), procurement, international policy regarding Iran, including halting Tehran’s military aspirations in the region, and Israel-US security cooperation.

It is not completely clear what the conversation will be about this time around. Esper, however, addressed the recent agreements to normalize relations between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain on Tuesday, saying that they could help deter Iran.

Before departing to Washington, Gantz said that he will be discussing “very important issues relating to Israel’s security in the next few years,” with Esper and other US security.

He added that “while we combat the coronavirus pandemic, we need to remember that our enemies will not rest for one moment. We saw what happened with the terror tunnel along the Gaza Strip border and we are well aware of the challenges we face on all front.”

The previous meeting with Esper arose as Israel was set to ask for compensation from Washington should a sale of advanced F-35 stealth fighters be made to the United Arab Emirates following normalization of ties. This meeting follows the finalization of the aforementioned agreement as well as the recent headway made in Bahrain within the past month.

“It is a great success by the president and his team in the White House,” Esper said on Tuesday in remarks at The Atlantic Council in Washington, adding that “we’ll see if more countries follow as well. We’re all hopeful, and everybody is trying to roll in that same direction.”

Esper said that the normalization agreements are essential for multiple reasons. “It’s the diplomatic opportunities it presents, it’s the security and it’s the economic [opportunities].” He noted that Arab countries “see that there is great potential for economic growth if there is normalization.”

Omri Nahmias, Anna Ahronheim, Zachary Keyser and Tobias Siegal contributed to this report.

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