Jacob McGee, the U.S. State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for Israeli-Palestinian affairs and the Levant, visited the Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat in southern Israel on Tuesday.
McGee is in the Jewish state “to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship and advance the Trump administration’s top priorities through engagements with Israeli leaders and regional partners,” according to the State Department.
Washington is “building on historic momentum toward durable peace in the Middle East,” the statement added.
McGee said he visited the CMCC “to advance one of the president’s top foreign policy priorities: the 20-point peace plan.”
“It’s incredible to see our Israeli counterparts and our multinational team here, and the close coordination that they accomplish every single day,” he said, adding that the United States remained “committed to a lasting and secure peace throughout the Middle East.”
The Civil-Military Coordination Center, established on Oct. 17 by U.S. Central Command, monitors the ceasefire agreement with Hamas and coordinates aid into Gaza. The center brings together representatives from some 40 countries to develop long-term frameworks for future governance and reconstruction.
However, eight diplomatic sources told Reuters on Tuesday that officials from several European nations had not returned to the CMCC since last month, questioning the purpose of the coordination center.
The sources said that the CMCC has made little progress in boosting the flow of humanitarian aid or achieving “political change,” and could be sidelined as Washington moves to Phase Two of the truce with the announcement of its Board of Peace.
The White House and U.S. State Department declined to comment to Reuters.
