CENTCOM commander General Michael Kurilla visited Israel from Wednesday to Friday, meeting with Israeli defense officials and discussing the situation in Syria, among other regional topics, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement. He met IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi, and Defense Minister Israel Katz, CENTCOM said.
Washington has urged Israel to be in close consultation with the U.S. over events unfolding in Syria, where days earlier Syrian rebels led by rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani brought an end to more than 50 years of rule by the Assad family, as ousted President Bashar al-Assad fled the country.
The world has been watching to see if Syria’s new rulers can stabilize the country in which more than a decade of civil war killed hundreds of thousands and sparked a refugee crisis.
Following the collapse of Assad’s regime, the Israeli military said its jets conducted hundreds of strikes in Syria and destroyed the bulk of its strategic weapons stockpiles.
Katz has ordered Israeli troops to prepare to stay over the winter on Mount Hermon, a strategic location overlooking Damascus, adding to signs that Israel is planning a prolonged military presence in Syria.
“The leaders discussed a range of regional security issues, to include the ongoing situation in Syria, and preparedness against other strategic and regional threats,” the CENTCOM statement said.
While Israel welcomed the removal of Assad, an ally of arch rival Iran, it is suspicious of the rebel groups that toppled him, many of which have origins linked to Islamist groups.