Memorandum of Mutual Understanding on Homeland Security

Signed by Israeli Minister of Public Security, Avi Dichter,

and American Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff

(February 8, 2007)

Israeli Minister of Public Security Avi Dicter and American Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff signed a joint memorandum of mutual understanding, setting out goals and terms for security collaboration between Israel and the United States. The memorandum called for cooperation on counter terrorism; aviation security - including passenger and baggage inspection; information exchange on planning, responses, recovery and damage control during a state of emergency; and research, development, experimenting and evaluation, including protocols and standardization of experiments, technology and methods of exposing explosives. The involved governments also agreed to staff exchanges and joint trainings, as well as to the exchange of information regarding the neutralization, planning, responding and minimization of terror and criminal activities. The Homeland Security Steering Committee, headed by the Director General of the Ministry of Public Security, Rani Falk, will meet once a year to ensure that the two parties are honoring the memorandum and to identify priority areas for the coming year. The memorandum was a follow up to a document that stressed the “vital need to promote operational, scientific and technological cooperation between the parties in the field of homeland security.”

MEMORANDUM

of Mutual Understanding between the Department of Homeland Security of the United States of America and the Ministry of Public Security of the State of Israel

The Department of Homeland Security of the United States of America and the Ministry of Public Security (hereinafter referred to as “the Participants”), acting in their respective interest to safeguard the domestic security of the United States of America and the State of Israel, and for the purpose of cooperation in combating, planning for, responding to, and mitigating the effects of terrorism and other serious crimes that threaten the security of their nations, taking note of the Counterterrorism Cooperation Accord between the Government of the State of Israel and the Government of the United States of America, 1996 and the activities already ongoing pursuant to the Department of State/Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bureau for Counter-Terrorism-led Joint Counterterrorism Group, and the Agreement Between the Department of Defense of the United States of America and the Ministry of Defense of the State of Israel Concerning Combating Terrorism Research and Development,  express their intention to cooperate on the basis of reciprocity consistent with the Participants’ competence and in accordance with the national law, treaties and agreements in force of their respective States in the following areas, inter alia:

The Participants state their intention to exchange information, in accordance with their national laws and policies, about measures to counteract, plan for, respond to and mitigate against terrorist and criminal activity in the aforementioned spheres.  Such information exchange may take place on the basis of a request from one Participant to the other, or spontaneously by either of the Participants if it believes that such information may be of interest to the other Participant. 

The Participants are to take measures to prevent an unauthorized disclosure of information exchanged pursuant to this Memorandum.  This Memorandum does not independently authorize disclosure of classified information.  Any and all exchanges of classified information are conducted in accordance with existing bilateral security protocols.  The Participants should seek the consent of the Participant originating such information before disclosing it to third parties.

For the purposes of information exchange and to ensure the routine function of the cooperation mechanism to be created the Participants should communicate principally through diplomatic channels and designated points of contact in their embassies in Washington and Tel Aviv.

The Participants intend to consult on the potential for cooperative activity consistent with the scope of this Memorandum and the laws and policies of the two Participants.

The Participants intend to meet occasionally in order to discuss and determine the modalities and working mechanisms necessary to facilitate the cooperation between the Participants.

The Participants intend to consult regarding any proposal to augment the cooperative measures set forth in this Memorandum.

This Memorandum does not impose any legal commitments on the Participants.  It does not create, nor is it intended to create any enforceable legal rights or private rights of action, nor does it affect the Participant’s rights and obligations under any other international treaties, agreements, or arrangements, nor under each Participant’s national laws, regulations and practices.  This Memorandum is not intended to displace or supersede any existing channels of communication or cooperative endeavors between the Participants.