Israel Accepts Invitation to Open Official Mission at NATO Headquarters

Jerusalem (TPS) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday that Israel has accepted the invitation sent two weeks ago by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to establish an official mission at its Brussels headquarters.

Netanyahu wrote on Twitter that he spoke yesterday with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, thanked him for the invitation, and said that Israel accepts it. He invited Stoltenberg to visit Israel and said that “Israel and NATO will strengthen their cooperation against the terror sources in the Middle East and against common threats.”

The NATO invitation to Israel was seen a sign that Turkey, a NATO member, has withdrawn its objections to Israel’s participation as relations between the two countries continue to thaw after years of rupture over the Mavi Marmara flotilla raid by the IDF in 2010.

After the NATO invitation was made at the beginning of May, Netanyahu commented that “Israel is a very active partner of the Alliance as a member of NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue. The countries of the world are looking to cooperate with us due to – inter alia – our determined fight against terrorism, our technological know-how, and our intelligence services.”