Israeli media: Biden visit to ME not related to 'Middle Eastern NATO'

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Israeli media quoting American sources said that what is being circulated regarding US President Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East "is not related to a Middle Eastern NATO or an Israeli-Arab alliance."

The American sources confirmed that the matter is related to arrangements and understandings taking place within the framework of the American Central Command, which is "responsible for the Middle East", as "Israel" joined it after it had been for years part of the American command in Europe.

Two days ago, Jordan's King Abdullah II said that he would support the formation of a military alliance in the Middle East similar to NATO, provided that "it would be done with like-minded nations."

The Israeli media spoke of "the tendency to find intelligence cooperation, as well as diagnostic activities, identifying launches of cruise missiles and drones, or things of this kind, and exchanging restricted technological information," stressing that "everything is taking place under American auspices."

The "secret" tripartite summit 

In this regard, the Wall Street Journal reported that the United States held a secret meeting of senior Israeli military officials and military leaders from Arab countries last March, in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh.

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According to Israeli media, the tripartite summit in Sharm El-Sheikh was on the agenda for several months and was supposed to remain confidential.
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According to the Wall Street Journal, the Sharm El-Sheikh meeting brought together Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi and Major General Fayyad bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, Chief of Staff of the Saudi Armed Forces.

Lieutenant-General Salem bin Hamad Al-Nabit, who commands Qatar's armed forces, also participated in, as were senior commanders from Jordan and Egypt, whereas Bahrain, whose military commander rarely travels, and the United Arab Emirates, sent lower-ranking officers - while "Kuwait and Oman did not join the talks."

The newspaper noted that "many building blocks for a potential regional air defense system have been laid."

Commenting on this, Israeli media said, "The important thing today is that the Arab countries who were mentioned did not deny the information that came in The Wall Street Journal, nor the issue of the intention to make regional arrangements under the American umbrella," stressing that the matter "is related to Bahrain, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, and if they want Sudan as well.” 

However, Israeli media indicated that what interested Biden is the issue of oil and his need for Saudi Arabia in this matter, noting that the American president, who will shake hands with who the US declared as a “pariah”, “encircled the issue of his need for understandings related to oil" with the Kingdom. 

Moreover, Israeli media had announced earlier that "the essence of US President Joe Biden's visit to the region is Saudi Arabia, with symbolic small steps to build confidence, but in the end, it paves the way for normalization between us and Saudi Arabia."

This comes after the White House announced, on the 14th of this month, that Biden will visit the Middle East from 13 to 16 July.