Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi arrived in Israel on Sunday as part of his tour of the Middle East.

This is the first such trip by a Japanese foreign minister since Motegi’s predecessor, Taro Kono, visited in December 2017.

Motegi visited Egypt, and will also visit Jordan, Turkey, the Palestinian Authority, Iran and Qatar.

The tour’s objective is to consolidate Japan’s ties with the area strategically important for Tokyo as a major oil supplier.

Motegi told a press conference earlier this month that “through the visit, I want to reiterate our commitment to the Middle East, which has contributed to its peace and prosperity over the years.”

Referring to the new governments in Iran and Israel, Motegi said, “I would like to frankly exchange opinions on the regional situation and work closely with them to promote the stability of the region.”

In 2022, Japan and Israel will mark 70 years of diplomatic relations.

An IDF drone flying a reconnaissance mission in Syria on Sunday crashed in the country, the military said.

The crash was caused by a technical failure, and there is no fear of intelligence being compromised, the IDF noted.

No further information was provided.

Several such incidents have occurred in recent months.

The drones are primarily used for reconnaissance, data collection, and target marking missions.

Another major forest fire is burning in the area around Jerusalem at this very moment.

Ramat Raziel, a town just outside of Jerusalem, has seen homes on fire. That is one of six towns where residents are being asked to evacuate for their own safety. The other five towns are Beit Meir, Ksalon, Shoresh, Sho’eva and Givat Ye’arim.

The fires broke out at about 3 PM local time. Local roads the 395 and the 3955 have been closed to traffic.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz has ordered the IDF to aid in fighting the fires.

The IDF’s elite helicopter rescue unit 669 was deployed in the Jerusalem hills, just west of the capital.

All the patients from the psychiatric hospital Eitanim Medical Center, which is located in the Jerusalem Hills just outside of the city, were evacuated successfully.

Reports indicate that at the current time as many as 70 firefighters are working in the area and 12 firefighting planes and helicopters are working as well.

According to police spokesman Eli Levi as many as 10,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.

Nissim Toito, Jerusalem District Commander of the Fire Department, commented, “This is perhaps the biggest fire in recent years in the Jerusalem mountains.”

Mateh Yehuda Regional Council leader Niv Vizel commented, “We are quickly working together with security and rescue services to control the flame,” said the head of the. “Council officials are at the scene and are in contact with local communities. We urge all residents and visitors to comply with police so we can get the situation under control as soon as possible.”

Smoke from the fires has spread to Jerusalem and even to central parts of the country.

As of now, no injuries have been reported.

Iran’s new interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi, is a criminal wanted by Interpol for murdering 85 people in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, and the international community “must condemn this shameful appointment,” Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lior Haiat stated Wednesday.

“This is the face of Iran’s new terrorist government: President Raisi, the ‘Butcher of Tehran,’ is responsible for killing thousands of Iranians and his ministers are responsible for murdering people around the world,” he added.

In June, Amnesty International stated that Raisi “must be investigated for crimes against humanity” after having served on the “death commission” that forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed in secret thousands of political dissidents in Evin and Gohardasht prisons near Tehran in 1988.

Since 2006, Argentine courts have demanded the extradition of eight Iranians, including former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and former defense minister and current miniter of interior Vahidi over their alleged involvement in the bombing. They have also been on an Interpol capture list for years,

The “Desert Eagle” exercise, the first of its kind joint exercise with the participation of the Israeli Air Force and the US Air Force Central Command (AFCENT), concluded on Tuesday.

U.S. Air Forces Central delivers dominant coalition airpower to secure and stabilize the CENTCOM area of responsibility.

The US military moved Israel from the US European Command’s (Eucom) area of responsibility to that of the US Central Command (Centcom) in January. Centcom focuses on the Middle East.

Israeli and US forces flew F-15 and F-16 aircraft to simulate combatting threats and increase operational readiness.

AFCENT forces landed and took off from the Uvda Air Force base in the south.

The exercise was led by IAF Squadron 133, with F15 aircraft, along with the US Air Force 494^th Squadron. The enemy force in the exercise was simulated by Squadron 115 with the F16 aircraft.

The teams practiced jointly aerial, ground and combined threats while attacking targets.

“The exercise is part of tightening the strategic and long-term cooperation between Israel and the United States,” the IDF stated.