US National Security Adviser to Arrive Thursday in Israel

Photo Credit: Amos Ben-Gershom / GPO

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Tel Aviv, Dec. 14, 2023.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is expected to arrive Thursday in Israel for talks with top government officials.

The meeting comes as the Israeli security-political cabinet is slated to convene at the IDF Kirya headquarters in Tel Aviv, Ynet reported.

Sullivan is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, along with Israel’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi.

On the agenda will be the recent events in Syria, the status of the Lebanon ceasefire and developments in a possible ceasefire deal to release the hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

Iran is also likely to be a topic of discussion, given this week’s intelligence report saying the Islamic Republic now has enough fissile material to produce more than a dozen nuclear weapons.

During an interview Sunday at the 2024 Reagan National Defense Forum, Sullivan noted that HTS has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and “has had elements affiliated with groups that have American blood on their hands.”

Sullivan said there are three things the Biden Administration is focusing on:

“One, that the fighting in Syria not lead to the resurgence of ISIS. And we are going to take steps ourselves directly, and working with the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurds, to ensure that does not happen.

“Two, that our friends in the region — Israel, Jordan, Iraq, others who border Syria, or who would potentially face spillover effects from Syria — are strong and secure, and we’re in touch with them every day.

“And three, that this not lead to a humanitarian catastrophe, both in terms of civilians’ access to lifesaving necessities and in terms of the protection of religious and ethnic minorities in Syria.”

US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces have been deeply involved in the fight against ISIS and were part of the military campaign that ended this weekend in the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad and his government.

Nevertheless, fellow NATO member Turkey has for years attempted to wipe out the Kurds.

Turkey has been a strong supporter of the Syrian rebels in the north who have attacked the Kurdish-controlled Manbij region in northern Syria, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Turkey’s southern border.