It obliges Israel to phase out a special arrangement that has allowed Israel to spend part of U.S. aid on its own defence industry instead of buying American-made weapons.
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The White House confirmed the terms of the deal on Wednesday and the signing will occur during a special ceremony at the State Department.
The agreement was signed at the State Department by US Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon and by Jacob Nagel, acting head of Netanyahu’s national security council.
“This agreement illustrates a simple truth: relations between Israel and the United States are strong and steadfast”.
It comes despite mounting frustration within President Barack Obama’s administration at Israel’s policy of building settler homes on occupied Palestinian territory.
This MOU will expire in 2018, in time for the new U.S. President to take over, allowing Netanyahu the ability to avoid uncertainty, whether Hilary Clinton or Donald Trump becomes president in the U.S.
“I would like to thank President Obama and his administration for this historic agreement”, the Prime Minister continued. Republican critics accuse him of not being attentive enough to Israel’s security, which the White House strongly denies.
This deal is the largest deal which U.S. has ever done with any country. “The agreement will ensure an unprecedented defense aid package to Israel over the period of a decade”, proclaimed Netanyahu.
No exact sum was disclosed by either side but officials familiar with the deal said it totals $3.8 billion a year – an increase on the $3.1 billion the United States. gave Israel annually under the previous 10-year deal.
Obama’s relationship with Netanyahu has been famously fraught for years, and ties between the countries worsened significantly when the USA and world powers struck a deal with a nuclear deal with Iran.
The deal includes $33 billion in foreign military financing funds and a $5 billion commitment in missile defense assistance.
For as long as Israel has existed, the United States has been Israel’s greatest friend and partner. Also, the money must be used to buy USA -made weapons instead of spending it to further develop its own defense industry. The provision originated in the 1980s to help Israel build up its defense industry, which is now a major global player.
The United States was the first country to recognize Israel as a state in 1948.
Netanyahu and Obama both plan to be in NY next week for U.N. General Assembly meetings, but officials have not announced any plans for formal meeting.
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“It’s an important message to the region that nobody should misread the differences between the USA and Israel when it comes to Iran or policy differences when it comes to the Palestinians”, said Middle East Peace Process project director David Makovsky at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
