Ekip
03 March 2016•Update: 03 March 2016
By Anees Bargouthi
JERUSALEM
U.S. Joint Chief-of-Staff General Jospeh Dunford arrived in Israel on Thursday for his second visit to Israel since his appointment last October.
Dunford is expected to hold several meetings with senior Israeli military officials during his visit.
According to a statement issued by the U.S. Joint Chiefs-of-Staff, Dunford is slated to hold meetings with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and Israeli Chief-of-Staff Gadi Eizinkot.
The Israeli army, for its part, said the general’s visit was aimed at strengthening ties between Israel and the U.S., especially in terms of military cooperation.
Dunford’s visit comes amid talk of increased U.S. military aid to Israel, which currently stands at some $3 billion annually -- although Israel would like to see this raised by between $1 billion and $2 billion.
According to Israeli daily Haaretz, Israel and the U.S. are currently discussing a proposed 10-year military-aid package worth a total of $50 billion.
The current $30-billion aid package, signed in 2007, is set to expire next year.
Dunford's visit comes only days before U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden is slated to visit both Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
According to the White House, Biden will arrive in the region on March 8 for a two-day visit, during which he will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
