Russia, US recognize Israel's right to self-defense, says Ya'alon

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, said Monday that the United States and Russia recognize Israel's right to "defend its interests," the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

 Ya'alon spoke at a joint exercise between the Israeli and US armies in a naval base in northern Israel.

• "Israel follows a single principle, self-defense," said Ya'alon in reference to air strikes in Syria attributed to the Israeli army. "We do not intervene in conflicts in the region, neither in Lebanon nor in Syria."

Regarding the fighting in Syria, the defense minister believes that a stable cease-fire will be difficult to achieve given all the players on the field, said Haaretz.

"The Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front are not part of this process. It is difficult to see a cease-fire in the near future, "he said.

Ya'alon, accompanied by the United States Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro,  also discussed threats from Gaza. According to Ya'alon, the terrorist organization Hamas continues to build tunnels for offensive and defensive purposes, said Haaretz.

"Hamas is also trying to arm themselves with rockets but with less success than in the past," Ya'alon said.

Israel is "preparing for the possibility that at some point, hopefully still far in the future, that the southern front will start up again and we will have to deal with it," he added.

Shapiro said Washington was working in cooperation with Jerusalem to find a technological solution to locating and destroying tunnels, said Haaretz.

Moreover, Jerusalem is still in negotiations with Washington to reach an agreement on renewing the agreement for military assistance between the two countries, said Haaretz. According to Ya'alon, an agreement will be reached in the "coming weeks".

According to Haaretz, the military equipment provided to Israel by the United States was approved by Ya'alon and his US counterpart Ashton Carter. Its purpose is to "to preserve our qualitative edge, which is an important part of maintaining our deterrence and, of course, maintaining stability in the region," said Yaalon.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday announced the start of the joint exercise between the IDF and the European Command of the United States Army in Israel.

• The exercise dubbed "Juniper Cobra 16" is aimed at improving cooperation and coordination between the two armies, as well as improving the proficiency of ballistic missile defense systems, said a statement by the IDF.

"This exercise is another example of the special relationship between two allies, Israel and the US," said Ya'alon.

The exercise is happening for the 8th time since it was organized in 2001.
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22/2/16