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Israel, NATO Seek to Deepen Ties
By Julie Stahl
CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief
February 25, 2005

Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) -- Israel is seeking to deepen its ties with NATO as a means of improving relations with its Arab neighbors, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said on Thursday.

Shalom was speaking after meeting in Jerusalem with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who is on what is being called a historic visit -- the first ever by a NATO chief to Israel.

"This visit reflects the mutual goal shared by Israel and NATO, to deepen our ongoing ties and to realize the great potential for cooperation, which exists between us," Shalom said.

According to Shalom, Israel and NATO countries "share common democratic values and institutions" as well as "similar challenges and threats" including "global terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

"We have no doubt that Israel will gain immensely from closer ties with NATO, and we also believe that Israel has much to offer NATO in return," Shalom said.

"We also believe that greater engagement by NATO with the countries of the Middle East will enhance our effort to promote peaceful and normal contacts between Israel and our Arab neighbors, to the benefit of all," he said.

Israel participated in a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in December -- the first of its kind at such a high level -- as part of the Mediterranean Dialogue, a group that includes Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.

That meeting was intended to enable NATO to beef-up its counter-terrorism efforts and other cooperation with Middle Eastern and North African countries.

But Scheffer said that participating in the Mediterranean dialogue was not "a first step to a future membership" in NATO.

In an interview with the Israeli daily Ha'aretz published on Thursday, Scheffer said that nevertheless, NATO looked forward to "an increased political and practical" relationship with Israel and a deepening of the "political dimension" of the dialogue.

Areas of "practical" cooperation, Scheffer said, could include intelligence, border security, naval patrols and the fight against arms smuggling.

According to the paper quoting unnamed sources, NATO -- under pressure from France, Belgium and Britain -- recently was forced to limit the scope of expanding relations with Israel in order to maintain an even-handed approach to countries in the region.

Scheffer said there are two principles that guide the Mediterranean Dialogue: "Each participant should be in a position to move its bilateral relation with NATO at its own rhythm" nevertheless, "given the sensitivities in the region, to keep everybody on board in this dialogue and to take account of the overall even-handedness of the process at large."

Experts gathered here for a conference on Israel's national security in December suggested that closer Israel-NATO ties could even help solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But Scheffer said that greater NATO involvement, such as stationing peacekeeping troops here, would only occur after an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement is signed.