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Top Trump adviser arrives for talks in Israel
JERUSALEM, Aug 19, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – US President Donald Trump’s
national security adviser arrived in Israel on Sunday for talks with Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a time of shared concerns over Syria, Iran and
the Gaza Strip.
John Bolton said on Twitter he was “looking forward to meeting with PM
Netanyahu and other officials beginning today to discuss bilateral concerns
and a range of national security issues”.
Bolton’s trip will also take him to Ukraine and Geneva, where he will
meet with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev.
The meeting in Geneva is a follow-up to Trump’s highly controversial
July summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, according to
the White House.
Few details were released on Bolton’s itinerary or his agenda for talks
with Israeli officials.
A meeting with Netanyahu was set for Monday morning.
A US embassy official said the discussions with Netanyahu and other
Israeli officials would include “regional security issues”.
Israel and Trump’s White House have shared concerns over Iran and its
involvement in Syria, where Tehran is backing Syrian President Bashar al-
Assad along with Russia.
Netanyahu has pledged to prevent his country’s arch foe Iran from
entrenching itself militarily in neighbouring Syria, and a series of recent
strikes that have killed Iranians there have been attributed to Israel.
Israel has also lauded Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal between
Iran and world powers along with the subsequent return of US sanctions on
Tehran.
Netanyahu has held a series of recent talks with Putin on Iran’s presence
in Syria, pressing Moscow to guarantee that Iranian forces and their allies,
such as the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, will be kept far away from the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Bolton’s visit comes as speculation increases over efforts by Egypt and
UN officials to secure a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas, the
Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip.
Months of tension along the Gaza border have led to fears of a fourth war
between Israel and Hamas since 2008.
On Sunday, Israel closed its only crossing for people with the Gaza Strip
over border clashes at the weekend, the latest tightening of its blockade of
the Palestinian enclave.
Despite the closure, the past week has been notably calmer along the
Gaza border.
BSS/AFP/RY/1614 hrs