The United States will give $38 billion to Israel for military spending over 10 years, according to a renewed defence aid deal signed between the two nations on Wednesday, The New York Times reported.
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Israel and the USA have agreed a military aid deal described as the largest package of defence assistance to any country ever.
Under the agreement, Israel’s ability to spend part of the funds on Israeli military products will be phased out, eventually requiring all of the funds to be spent on American military industries.
The agreement was signed at the State Department by u.s. undersecretary of state Thomas Shannon and Jacob Nagel, acting head of Netanyahu’s national security council.
She emphasized at today’s signing ceremony in Washington, D.C., that the “MOU underscores the USA will always be there for the state of Israel and the Israeli people – today, tomorrow, and for generations to come”.
Nagel hailed the agreement as an indication of the “rock-solid alliance” between Israel and the United States.
Negotiations over this Israel military aid package have been ongoing for months, with the Obama administration eager for a legacy item to undercut the criticism that his administration was insufficiently supportive of Israel.
In addition to the uncertainty of what kind of a deal he would get from a new United States president, Israel’s defense establishment required clarity on the deal in order to plan ahead.
White House National Security Advisor Susan Rice hailed the agreement.
Right now, the USA provides $3.1 billion to the Israel military every year.
The $38-billion deal come into effect after the current $30 billion MoU signed in 2007 expires in 2018 and will cover USA fiscal years 2019 to 2028. Netanyahu had originally sought upwards of $4.5 billion a year.
The new memorandum of understanding, signed by President Obama Thursday, also boosts the joint Israeli-U.S. missile defense programs, which will receive $400 million in funding.
Presidential candidate said in her campaign appeals to pro-Israel voters to be likely continuing those policies. But the wording is likely to be flexible enough to allow exceptions in case of a war or other major crisis.
The successful conclusion of the agreement, diplomats on both sides said, represents the staying power of a relationship that transcends individual politicians or leaders. Another source familiar with the negotiations confirmed that the signing would be “in the coming days”. In February, Netanyahu quietly floated the prospect of waiting for Obama’s successor in hopes of securing a better deal, and Graham said Netanyahu told him last month he wouldn’t deny more money would be preferable.
The White House has been quick to point out this is the largest military aid pledge ever made in American history.
“Elimination of a longstanding provision that has allowed Israel to use about 13 per cent of the USA aid to buy military fuel”.
Netanyahu plans to visit NY next week to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly.
The negotiations for the landmark military package announced on Wednesday took almost 10 months to complete.
“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.
It was unclear, however, whether the administration’s differences with Graham had been resolved or it had chose to go ahead with the announcement anyway.
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The new MOU is expected to be signed in a ceremony Wednesday in Washington.
