According to the deal, the United States will give Israel US$38 billion (S$52 billion) in military aid over a decade, the largest such aid package in US history.
Advertisement
Obama issued a statement following the signing ceremony characterizing it as “the most recent reflection of my steadfast commitment to the security” of Israel.
The country is “the largest cumulative recipient of USA foreign assistance since World War II”, according to a United States congressional research report from June 2015.
It remains to be seen how much support there is in Congress for this new bill, despite Graham’s confidence, and numerous usual lobbyists for such aid may fear that its passing so soon after the Obama deal would hurt Israel’s credibility, after promising not to lobby for such funds.
The negotiation has played out over a fraught 10 months which was underscored by continued friction between the two allies over the U.S. nuclear deal with Iran a year ago.
This increase in aid comes as the Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israeli government, which took office in 2008, has vastly expanded the network of illegal settlements deep into the Palestinian territories in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
On Tuesday, Jerusalem and Washington finalized the 10-year defense deal in what the State Department called the “single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in U.S. history”.
But it includes up to $700 million that Congress had previously approved for Israeli missile defense systems in additional spending bills.
“It sounds like a bit of a difference, but then if you look at the money that the US Congress routinely gives Israel on top of that $3.1bn, it’s really not that much more”, Culhane said.
Barack Obama will be leaving White House in an election year claiming Democrats have done more than any other party in the United States to protect a long-standing ally.
“America’s commitment to Israel’s security is unshakeable”, US President Barack Obama said in a statement after the two countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding.
US (United States) signed a planned security agreement with Jewish State, Israel. According to the previous deal, Israel received $3.1 billion a year. She also added that this agreement clarifies that U.S. will always be there for the state of Israel and its people for tomorrow and upcoming generations too.
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.
Advertisement
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton welcomed the new security assistance deal as sending a clear message to the region and the world that the U.S.
