Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey landed in Israel Monday afternoon to begin talks with Israel and later with Jordan, where American troops are stationed.
Syria will top his agenda in Jordan, which has been flooded by Syrian refugees and where there has been a spillover in fighting in the Syrian civil war.
In Israel, Gen. Dempsey will meet with IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, with the Iranian nuclear program and instability in Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula high on the agenda.
Dempsey arrived immediately after U.S. Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh was in Israel for a secret four-day visit, which the United States had asked not be reported until it concluded.