In an interview with the German news magazine Der Spiegel published on Saturday, Stoltenberg said Israel does not qualify for NATO’s “security guarantee,” because it is not a member of the alliance.
Israel is not a member of the alliance, and is therefore not included in the mutual defense provision of the NATO charter, which says that member states have a responsibility to defend other members.
Stoltenberg said that conflicts in the Middle East were not part of NATO’s mission. His comments came in the wake of clashes between Israel and Iran in Syria.
Not only have they clashed over Iran’s military presence in Syria, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is firmly against the 2015 nuclear deal with international powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. President Trump announced in May that the US would withdraw from the pact.
A senior Israeli diplomatic official told the Jerusalem Post that Stoltenberg was a friend of Israel, but his answer to the Der Spiegel question was “clumsy”. He said Stoltenberg should have replied that the question is moot since Israel is not a member of the organisation.
The remarks by the secretary-general may have been made to discourage Israel in pursuing a conflict with Iran. In 2016 NATO started a training and capacity-building mission for Iraqi armed forces. In January 2017, it opened a regional center in Kuwait. NATO AWACS aircraft also operate in Syria.
Decisions inside the treaty organisation are made by consensus, and NATO-member Turkey would not support sending troops to defend Israel.
Meanwhile, the US Army Europe confirmed on Sunday that the current Saber Strike 18 drill is “a demonstration of the commitment and solidarity of the Alliance” against Russia. Non-NATO member Israel will be taking part in Saber Strike for the first time.
Several dozen Israeli paratroopers are being sent to Eastern Europe to take part in the exercise.
Partner states regularly contribute to NATO operations such as those in Afghanistan and naval missions off Somalia and in the Mediterranean Sea. Israel has been a partner of NATO since 1994.
