Commander of the U.S. European Command General Curtis M. Scaparrotti continued his visit to Israel today, Tuesday, March 7, 2017, with a tour of the Arrow Missile Defense System headquarters in Palmahim, accompanied by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot and Air Defense Commander Brig. Gen. Zvika Haimovitch. He then continued to an IDF field exercise and was briefed by Brig. Gen Ori Gordin and Maj. Gen (res.) Tal Russo. He then traveled south to Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip and visited a captured Hamas tunnel, accompanied by Gaza Division Commander Brig. Gen Yehuda Fox.
General Scaparrotti is in Israel for an official visit as the guest of Lieutenant General Eizenkot, to continue strengthening the military-to-military relationship between the United States and Israel. While in Israel, Gen. Scaparrotti met with Lt. Gen Gadi Eizenkot at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv. In their meeting Gen. Scaparrotti underscored the strong and enduring military partnership and said it was built on trust developed over decades of close cooperation. He emphasized the U.S. commitment to maintaining Israel's qualitative military edge in the region and defensive capacities.
On Monday, March 6, 2017, General Scaparrotti met with President Reuven Rivlin at his residence in Jerusalem and reaffirmed the unwavering U.S. commitment to Israel's security. While in Jerusalem, Gen. Scaparrotti received a guided tour of Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum and laid a wreath at the Hall of Remembrance in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. This was General Scaparrotti's second visit to Israel as EUCOM Commander.
U.S. European Command is one of the United States’ two forward-deployed Geographic Combatant Commands whose area of focus cover almost one-fifth of the planet, including all of Europe, large portions of Asia, parts of the Middle East and the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. The command is responsible for military relations with NATO and 51 countries with a total population of close to a billion people.
