JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli officials on Wednesday sought to downplay any damage caused by President Donald Trump’s disclosure of classified information to senior Russian officials that was reportedly provided by Israel, and lauded the robust security cooperation with the United States just days before the president is due to arrive for a state visit.
Despite fears that the leak could endanger a valuable Israeli intelligence asset within the Islamic State group, officials stressed that nothing would change as a result of the extraordinary breach.
“The security relationship between Israel and our great ally the United States is deep, meaningful and unprecedented in its scope and contribution to our strength,” Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman tweeted. “That is how it has been and that is how it will continue to be.”
Israel has yet to acknowledge claims from U.S. officials that it was the source of the highly classified information about an Islamic State plot that Trump divulged to Russian diplomats.
Trump appears to have shared the information without Israel’s consent, which would mark a severe violation of the confidentiality of their intelligence-sharing agreement. Even more remarkable is that Trump chose to confide in representatives of an adversary, who could relay the information to its allies Iran and Syria, bitter enemies of Israel, and potentially find the source.