New US CENTCOM chief pays first visit to Israel

The new head of the US military's Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, concluded his first visit to Israel in the role on Saturday, the Israeli military said.

"The visit focused on the operational cooperation between the Israel Defense Forces and the US military, maintaining regional stability in both nearby and distant arenas, and strengthening joint efforts to address the challenges and threats in the region" the military said in a statement. Cooper was appointed in early August to lead CENTCOM, the US military command responsible for the Middle East.