IDF senior sources said that Kochavi intends to discuss with the European leaders about security-related issues with an emphasis on Iran and Lebanon.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi will join President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday on his diplomatic trip to France, Germany, and Austria.
Rivlin and Kochavi are expected to meet French President Emmanuel Macron, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
In addition, Kochavi is expected to meet also with the German Bundeswehr’s Inspector-General Eberhard Zorn and the Austrian Chief of the General Staff Robert Brieger.
IDF senior sources said that Kochavi intends to discuss with the European leaders about security-related issues with an emphasis on Iran and Lebanon.
They said that he will present, among other things, the failures of the current Iran deal; the challenges that Iran poses to the region — from Syria to Yemen; and Lebanon’s and Hezbollah’s disregarding of UN 1701 decision, as well as the implications and threats that their precise missiles pose on the region.
The sources added that Kochavi will also bring up the issue of the IDF captive soldiers, and the recent ICC decision to open an investigation into Israel’s actions in the West Bank, Gaza, and east Jerusalem.
According to sources, the chief of staff will tell the leaders that the decision has severe implications on the ability of democracies to operate on battlefields against terrorist militias that choose to hide behind civilians.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post