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Qatar military chief meets Israel’s counterpart

March 12, 2022 at 11:57 am

Israeli army chief of staff Aviv Kohavi in the northern Haifa city naval base. [HEIDI LEVINE/POOL/AFP via Getty Image]

The Chief of Staff of Qatar’s Armed Forces Salem Bin Hamad Al-Nabit met with the Israel Defence Forces chief Aviv Kohavi to discuss military cooperation, The Times of Israel reported on Friday.

The Israeli newspaper disclosed that the news about the meeting of the senior Qatari official with his Israeli counterpart was firstly reported by Saudi-owned Elaph news website early on Friday.

According to the reports, the Qatari and Israeli chiefs discussed military cooperation between the countries regarding “recent developments in the region”.

The reports also stated that they discussed the possibility of Qatar joining a regional alliance against Iran’s potential aggression, specifically regarding the threat of unmanned aerial vehicles.

They also discussed the possibility of placing “advanced Israeli radars” in the Gulf state for early warning against Iranian drones and missiles.

READ: Saudi Arabia says Israel is “potential ally”

According to Elaph, the meeting between the military chiefs took place at the US Naval Forces Central Command headquarters, the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, which are stationed in Bahrain.

In a statement, Kohavi explained: “Over the past year, we have built a network of strategic-security partners in multiple countries in the Middle East. This network strengthens the strategic advantage we have over threats in the region.”

Qatar does not have normalised ties with Israel, but it maintains contact with Israel over the issue of the Gaza Strip and Hamas.

According to The Times of Israel, the Gulf state has ruled out the possibility of normalising ties with Israel in the future.