Contradicting IDF, US says it didn’t establish military base in Israel

(Worthy News) – The American military on Tuesday denied a claim made by the Israel Defense Forces that the United States had established its first base in Israel, saying the new buildings were instead a “living facility.”

On Monday, the Israeli Air Force declared that the US military’s European Command (EUCOM) had opened a “base within a base” at the IDF’s air defense school, west of the towns of Dimona and Yeruham in southern Israel.

“We established an American base in the State of Israel, in the Israel Defense Forces, for the first time, with an American flag. A permanent base,” Brig. Gen. Tzvika Haimovitch, head of the IAF’s Aerial Defense Command, told reporters.

“The new buildings located on the Israeli installation are not a US military base,” she said. “The buildings are facilities on the existing Israeli Air Force Base to support our US service personnel who are working there.”

The message was passed along to the IDF, which quickly changed all mentions on its website of a “US military base” to read “US military facility.” [ Source (Read More…) ]