U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano met with the Israeli president and other senior officials on Tuesday during a two-day working visit discussing Israel's homeland security threats and strategies.
Napolitano's first stop was with Israeli President Shimon Peres at the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday morning, where the two held what Peres' office described as a "working diplomatic meeting", that included improving strategic cooperation between the two countries, and the peace process.
"Homeland Security is a top priority all over the world and more than anywhere, in Israel itself," Peres said, noting that " insecurity is not homemade but comes from outside, has a global character, is original and concerns the defense of innocent people. "
Napolitano stressed what she termed the "strong and enduring partnership" between the two countries.
"I am visiting to see that all of the things we are doing in partnership with Israel, from aviation security, to cyber security, to science and technology research that we are undertaking together focused on security, is being done in a productive and robust fashion," Napolitano said at the press conference, before the two held a closed-door meeting.
Napolitano has also met with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy Dan Meridor, and Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz.
That parley is centered on "threats from terrorism and the ongoing security partnership" between the United States and Israel, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement released Tuesday.
"Protecting against terrorism relies on close cooperation and information sharing with our international partners," Napolitano said during the meeting with Peres.
"The continued collaboration between the United States and Israel is critical to ensuring our shared security in the face of new and evolving threats," she said.
Napolitano met with Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, who briefed the Secretary on Israel's Border Police Anti-Terrorism Unit, according to a ministry statement.
Both officials stressed the need to expand bilateral cooperation in aviation security, emergency situations and advanced relevant technology, among other issues.
Napolitano is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials on Wednesday, as well as visit Ben-Gurion International Airport to meet with officials there to view security measures, the DHS said in a statement.
The DHS is responsible for the Transport Safety Administration (TSA), established after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
The TSA has come in for sharp criticism from airline pilots and passengers alike for it's recent installation of full-body scanners and "enhanced pat-down," which many critics cite as being capricious, overly intrusive, and causing undue delays to airline passengers timetables.
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