BICOM

Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, yesterday reaffirmed the closeness of the strategic partnership between the US and Israel. Mullen was visiting Israel to take part in a farewell ceremony for outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi. Mullen said, before a meeting with President Shimon Peres, that the closeness between the US and Israel was particularly relevant during the current period of regional instability and change. Mullen also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and new Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is also set to arrive in Israel today. She is scheduled to meet with Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. She will also travel to the PA areas and meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Ashton will discuss the upcoming meeting of Israeli and Palestinian negotiators with Quartet envoys, set to take place in Brussels.