AFP
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon left Sunday for the United States for a five-day visit amid turbulence in relations between the two allies.
"The relations between the US and Israel are based on common interests and shared values and those should not be overshadowed by any
disagreement of any sort," Ya'alon said in a statement before his departure, referring to the sharp criticism raised in Israel on Friday against the American Secretary of State John Kerry over a comment he made linking the fight against the Islamic State to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Ya'alon is due to meet in the US with his American counterpart Chuck Hagel and various American security officials, as well as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who has just returned from a tour of the region. In these meetings, Ya'alon will raise the issues of Iran's nuclear program, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the war in Gaza this summer and the advance of the Islamic State in the Middle East.
