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Arab states conceal security cooperation with Israel

October 9, 2017 at 9:56 am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi (R) [thenewkhalij]

The Israeli newspaper Maariv has reported that there is security and military cooperation between Egypt, the UAE and other notorious countries in Asia, Africa and America.

This cooperation includes the provision of intelligence information, participating in military operations, and arms deals. Maariv confirmed that Egyptian and Israeli air forces will be holding military exercises soon with the participation of Cyprus and Greece.

According to the newspaper’s military analyst Yossi Melman, Israel is using military surveillance and control over the judicial system to restrict press freedom and conceal its decades-long relationship with notorious regimes and countries. He pointed out that these ties vary from security cooperation to intelligence coordination, arms deals and joint military exercises.

Melman stated that security and military cooperation and coordination, the exchange of intelligence, arms deals and joint military exercises are likely to include many Arab countries with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations. He indicated that these countries are concealing these relations and consider it very dangerous to expose and reveal their security relations with Israel.

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According to Melman there is very little information available on Israeli-Egyptian relations that explains in detail the military intelligence cooperation between the two countries, especially with regard to the war against Daesh in Sinai.

He explained that military and security coordination between Israel and Egypt is developing because of this war – Israeli military intelligence is providing information about the activities of militants in Sinai and are helping launch attacks.

Journalists in Israel are prohibited from publishing such information, even from foreign sources.

Other examples include security and military export operations to several Arab countries. In this context Melman stated that the security establishment and military surveillance are intertwined so that they appear to protect national interests, but in fact they are protecting the security and military industries, brokers and arms dealers.

For years, the publication of information about security relations between Israel and Abu Dhabi has been suppressed. He noted that the two sides view the Camp David agreement as a common security interest. Their relations have faced successive security challenges, but they have survived all of them.