The U.S. and Israel on Wednesday formally agreed to a massive new security agreement that will provide the Middle Eastern ally with $38 billion in military aid over the next decade. “This is the largest military aid package the USA has ever given out to any nation”.
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The official said that 38 billion dollars Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covered USA fiscal years, 2019-2028, and succeeded the current 30 billion dollars MoU signed in 2007, which expired at the end of 2018.
The agreement signed today by USA states that Israel will be liable to spend the funds on Israeli Military products and eventually all of the money will be spent on American military industries. Israel’s preference for spending some of the funds internally had been a major sticking point in the negotiations. The nuclear agreement with Iran, reached a year ago, will help that enemy of Israel to grow its economy, purchase ballistic missiles after eight years, and start developing an industrial-scale nuclear enrichment program in a decade.
“The only way for Israel to endure and thrive as a Jewish and democratic state is through the realization of an independent and viable Palestine”, he said.
The officials observed that the almost 10 months of drawn-out aid negotiations underscored continuing friction between President Barack Obama and Netanyahu over last year’s.
The $38-bilion aid will allow Israel, America’s main ally in the Middle East, to upgrade its defences with new fleet of fighter aircraft, a more agile ground force and a stronger missile shield, senior USA officials said.
National Security Adviser Susan Rice said the package was good for the U.S.as well.
The current military aid package, which will expire in 2018, provided Israel with an annual sum of $3.1 billion.
In a statement on Tuesday, AIPAC commended President Obama and his administration “for forging this landmark agreement”. Some years, it has even declined, she said.
The deal will allow Washington’s chief Middle East ally to upgrade most of its fighter aircraft, improve its ground forces’ mobility and strengthen its missile defence systems, according to United States officials.
The Conference of Presidents’ Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Malcolm Hoenlein added that the agreement between the United States and Israel “sends an important message to the entire region of the Middle East of the enduring strength of the U.S. – Israel special relationship”.
The US also reportedly wanted to remove a clause in the memorandum that allows Israel to spend $400 million a year on “military fuels”.
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The new MOU is expected to be signed in a ceremony Wednesday in Washington. “Let the ayatollah know the more provocative you are the more we’re going to spend on Israel’s defense”, Graham said. Tensions reached a boiling point past year when the US brokered a nuclear deal with Iran. “It reaffirms the depth and strength of the U.S. -Israel relationship – which is based on common security interests, shared values, and deep historical ties – and sends a clear message to the region and the world that we will always stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel”.
