The US has signed the biggest-ever aid deal in its history worth Dollars 38 billion with Israel under which it will buy advanced planes and weaponry and boost the missile defense shield of the Israeli military, displaying “unprecedented commitment” to the Jewish state. This is by far the largest single military aid package offered in United States history, and USA officials were quick to insist it could rise even further “in case of emergency”.
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The American-Israeli deal requires at least $3.8 billion in annual aid, up from $3.1 billion per year under the current pact, which expires in 2018.
Netanyahu said it was “outrageous” that Palestinians wanted their future state to include “no Jews” and rejected the notion the settlements were an obstacle to peace.
The deal was reached despite mounting frustration within the Obama administration at Israel’s policy of building settler homes on occupied Palestinian territory.
Israel’s preference for spending some of the USA funds internally had been a major sticking point in the deal.
She emphasized at today’s signing ceremony in Washington, D.C., that the “MOU underscores the US will always be there for the state of Israel and the Israeli people – today, tomorrow, and for generations to come”.
Israel argued that the deal should be much larger than previous packages as it perceives that sanctions relief provided as part of the nuclear deal to Iran would allow it wreak greater havoc in the region. Tellingly, the agreement was signed by the leaders’ top aides, rather than Obama and Netanyahu themselves.
The fact that the commitment comes from a Democratic president – despited public spats over the Iran nuclear agreement and Israeli construction in the West Bank – makes that message even stronger, Makovsky said.
The deal will be the third such agreement between the two countries, with the first in 1998 securing $21.3 billion in military aid for Israel. From now on Israel will be forced to purchase materiel on the same terms as other recipients of United States military aid. Its total defense budget amounts to some $16 billion, excluding the USA aid.
Israel relies heavily on United States defence aid and a recent U.S. congressional research report detailed that the country is “the largest cumulative recipient of USA foreign assistance since World War II”.
Talks over the deal – which will come into effect in 2019 – had previously faltered over these issues, as well as disagreements about the size of the aid package.
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He has defended himself against critics who accused him of damaging relations with Israel’s most important ally. Israel considers a nuclear-armed Iran to be an existential threat and disagreed sharply with Obama’s contention that the deal actually made Israel safer by limiting Iran’s nuclear program.
