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Herb Keinon contributed to this report.

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US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro visited the IDF’s Palmahim Air Force base Wednesday, and said his presence there sent a message that the US stands beside Israel and will help defend it against all security threats.Asked by a Reshet Bet radio reporter about the significance of his visit to an IAF base at this time, Shapiro noted rising security threats and the volatility of the region. “It is precisely in these times that we must show the Israeli people that the US will stand to protect Israel, its security, in the face of all threats.”Shapiro added that the US had an “everlasting” obligation to Israel’s security.On the subject of the Palestinians’ plan to appeal for statehood recognition at the UN next week, Shapiro reiterated Washington’s opposition to the move, but said he did not know whether it was still possible to prevent the Palestinian Authority from making it. He said the US continued to believe that bilateral negotiations were the way forward to peace.In August Shapiro expressed confidence that despite the difficult economic climate in the US, Washington’s financial commitments to Israel’s security will continue. Shapiro, on a tour of an Iron Dome battery near Ashkelon, said America’s commitment to Israel’s security “has been consistent through many ups and downs of our own economy.”