Reuters yesterday conveyed statements from U.S. Brigadier-General John Shapland, the chief American defense attache in Israel, suggesting that Israel could expand its anti-missile umbrella to protect Jordan and Egypt.

“If we were able to build a regional defense capability in, say, Jordan, that capability could easily defend Israel, Jordan and even Egypt, if you so desired, adding one more layer to your multi-layered defense,” he told Israeli officials and experts gathered at the INSS think-tank.

Yair Ramati, head of the Israel Missile Defence Organisation, appeared open to the idea. “The policy of the (Israeli) Defence Ministry is always to cooperate with the countries of the region, including the countries cited,” Ramati said at the conference, in reference to Jordan and Egypt.

Regionally, any such moves would be seen as evidence of increasingly open cooperation between Jerusalem and the U.S.’s traditional Arab allies. Globally, the suggestion is likely to be read alongside growing international interest – going back to mid-2013 in the case of South Korea, and as recently as last week in the case of India – in acquiring Israeli missile defense assets.

[Photo: CNN / YouTube]