According to a report, senior US Central Command officials expressed anger over Transportation Minister Miri Regev's decision to prevent American refueling aircraft from landing at Ben Gurion Airport. The report follows a previous report at 19:55 that CENTCOM officials had complained to the IDF top brass about the ban.
At 19:59 Jerusalem, a new report indicates that senior US Central Command officials are furious specifically at Transportation Minister Miri Regev over her decision to bar a US refueling aircraft from landing at Ben Gurion Airport. The report follows The Zioneer's earlier reporting at 10:24 Jerusalem that the dispute had reached Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with CENTCOM officials expressing anger over the ban.
The Zioneer has been tracking the escalating dispute since 10:24 Jerusalem, when it first reported that the US had canceled the evacuation of refueling aircraft from Ben Gurion (version 1). Minutes later, the US froze the evacuation (version 2). The freeze threatened thousands of summer flight tickets (version 3). Transport Minister Regev then blocked additional landings (version 4), and the Israel Airports Authority issued a directive barring further refuelers (version 5). The Transport Ministry followed with an extraordinary order (version 6), and additional barring measures were reported (version 7). At 10:24, The Zioneer reported that CENTCOM officials had complained to the IDF top brass (version 8), citing a report by ynet. Later at 10:24, The Zioneer reported that the fury had reached Prime Minister Netanyahu, citing i24NEWS with two sources (version 9).
The Zioneer has previously reported on Minister Regev's criticism of the US deployment, including her statement that the aircraft turn the civilian airport into a military base. The Zioneer also reported on the departure of some US aircraft. The dispute has raised concerns about up to 50,000 flight ticket cancellations, as The Zioneer reported earlier.
The current report adds a new layer of tension between the Israeli minister and the US military command. It does not specify whether the officials have also directly appealed to the IDF command, as earlier reports suggested.
10 developments
- DevelopingRegev: Ben Gurion operating normally, US refuelers not returning amid evacuation
- DevelopingReport: CENTCOM chief arrives in Lebanon to establish coordination mechanism with IDF
- DevelopingRegev calls for removal of US refueling aircraft from Israel, escalating rift with Trump
- DevelopingRubio spoke to Netanyahu and Lebanon's Aoun overnight to resolve final differences
Source and signal
- Internal intake