عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Israeli Army Chief Heads to US to ‘Reinforce Armies’ against Iranian Security Threats 

From right to left: Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, and Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi. (EPA)
From right to left: Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, and Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi. (EPA)
TT
20
TT

Israeli Army Chief Heads to US to ‘Reinforce Armies’ against Iranian Security Threats 

From right to left: Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, and Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi. (EPA)
From right to left: Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, and Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi. (EPA)

Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi will kick off a visit to the United States on Sunday to discuss the security challenges in the region.  

This will be his second visit to the US since assuming his post and his last before leaving office on January 17.  

An Israeli army statement said he is set to meet with senior officials and officers to discuss reinforcing security in the Middle East, discuss security challenges in the region, topped by the threat posed by Iran, and strengthen cooperation between armies.   

During his five-day visit, he will meet convene with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, US Central Intelligence Agency William Burns, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and other officials. 

Kochavi will visit the United States Central Command’s headquarters in Tampa (Florida) to conduct “a joint strategic assessment of the situation” with head of the US Central Command General Michael Corella and other senior officers.  

Last week, Corella visited Israel and met Kochavi as part of efforts to develop joint military capabilities against the recent threats in the Middle East, especially Iran.  

Israel’s outgoing defense minister Benny Gantz concluded on Friday a visit to Greece. There, he said Israel would continue to act against Iran’s efforts to establish “terrorist bases” on its borders. 

Gantz accused Iran of “being involved in the war against Ukraine” while it continues to support “terrorism” in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank, and to develop its nuclear program. 

“Iran's nuclear program and the use of Iranian drones by Russian forces in Ukraine is evidence that the alleged aggression of Tehran continues to be a grave threat to the region and the world,” Gantz warned. 

“It is clear that the global threats we see today are only the seeds of the challenges that will develop and grow in the future, impacting national security, food supplies, immigration, and energy resources,” he continued.   

Gantz cited global and regional challenges that countries of the eastern Mediterranean are facing, such as the war in Ukraine and ongoing tensions with Iran.  

“The implications of the war in Ukraine are bleeding across national borders. The politics of extremism and terrorism are impacting countries around the world,” he said.  

Most Viewed

 
World

UN-backed Team Focusing on Human Rights in Palestinian Areas Announce Resignations

Chair of the Commission Navi Pillay delivers her statement of the report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, during the 56th session of the Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP, File)
Chair of the Commission Navi Pillay delivers her statement of the report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, during the 56th session of the Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP, File)
TT
20
TT

UN-backed Team Focusing on Human Rights in Palestinian Areas Announce Resignations

Chair of the Commission Navi Pillay delivers her statement of the report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, during the 56th session of the Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP, File)
Chair of the Commission Navi Pillay delivers her statement of the report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, during the 56th session of the Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP, File)

A team of three independent experts working for the UN's top human rights body with a focus on Israel and Palestinian areas say they are resigning, citing personal reasons and a need for change, in the panel's first such group resignation.

The resignations, announced Monday by the UN-backed Human Rights Council that set up the team, come as violence continues in Palestinian areas with few signs of letup in the Israeli military campaign against Hamas and other militants behind the Oct. 7 attacks.

The Israeli government has repeatedly criticized the panel of experts, known as the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, and denied their repeated requests to travel to the region or otherwise cooperate with the team, The AP news reported.

Council spokesman Pascal Sim said the move marked the first joint resignations of Commission of Inquiry members since the council was founded in 2006. The team said in a statement that the resignations had “absolutely nothing to do with any external event or pressure," while also saying they provided a good opportunity to reconstitute the panel.

Navi Pillay, 83, a former UN human rights chief who has led the commission for the last four years, said in a letter to the council president that she was resigning effective Nov. 3 because of “age, medical issues and the weight of several other commitments.”

In an interview, Pillay rejected accusations from critics who accused her of antisemitism or turning a blind eye to the Hamas attacks. She recalled how she worked closely with some Jewish lawyers in the fight against apartheid in her native South Africa and was invited to Israel as the UN rights chief from 2008 to 2014.

"Name-calling is not affecting me in any way,” she said by phone. “We have striven to remain independent. That’s what we are. We’re an independent panel. We don’t take sides ... We look at the evidence and see the direction it’s taking us.”

“People who accuse us of being anti-Semitic ... they twist the facts, they invent facts, falsify facts. I would like to see them challenge the report: Which of the facts that we have set out are incorrect?” she said.

Her commission condemned the Oct. 7 attacks three days afterward in a news release that said at the time that reports "that armed groups from Gaza have gunned down hundreds of unarmed civilians are abhorrent and cannot be tolerated. Taking civilian hostages and using civilians as human shields are war crimes.”

She expressed regret that Israel didn't allow the commission access to Israel or Palestinian areas, saying "I feel that’s an injustice to Israeli Jews because we’re not taking on board their opinion or what they’re saying.”

Pillay said she had been recently diagnosed with low platelet count and her condition has restricted her ability to travel.

Her team said it wanted to give the rights council's president — currently Ambassador Jürg Lauber of Switzerland — the ability to pick new members.

Team member Chris Sidoti said Pillay's retirement marked “an appropriate time to re-constitute the commission.” The third member, Miloon Kothari, did not provide his reasons in a letter announcing his resignation effective 0ct. 31.

Neither the independent experts nor the council have any power over countries, but aim to spotlight rights abuses and collect information about suspected perpetrators that could be used by the International Criminal Court or other courts focusing on international justice.

The letters were sent to the council president last week but only became public Monday.

Last week, the US government announced sanctions against another independent expert mandated by the council, Francesca Albanese, who has also focused on Israel and the Palestinians. Albanese has accused Israel of genocide against the Palestinians, a claim Israel has denied.

Albanese said in an interview last week with The Associated Press that she was shocked by the US decision. She has not resigned.