US signs record $38 billion 10-year military aid deal with Israel

Middle East, News, US September 14, 2016 , by IRIA No Comments

Israel, US sign US$38 billion military aid deal despite differences over Middle East peace. The deal will be the biggest pledge of bilateral military assistance in US history

WASHINGTON – The United States and Israel have signed a record new package of at least US$38 billion in U.S. military aid and the 10-year, the largest and longest such agreement between the two nations.

The agreement is the follow-on to a $30 billion, 10-year memorandum of understanding signed in 2007.

“We affirm today the unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel,” U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice said at the Washington ceremony.

After months of negotiations and disputes over the Iran nuclear deal, the memorandum of understanding was finally signed at the State Department by Israel’s national security adviser, Jacob Nagel, and Thomas Shannon, the third-highest ranking U.S. diplomat.

The deal is the biggest pledge of U.S. military assistance ever made to any country but also includes major concessions granted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to officials on both sides.

This MOU constitutes the largest pledge of assistance in U.S. history.
The new MOU will be signed tomorrow in a ceremony at the @StateDept.

— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 13, 2016

“This commitment to Israel’s security has been unwavering and is based on a genuine and abiding concern for the welfare of the Israeli people and the future of the state of Israel,” President Barack Obama said in a statement.

“This memorandum of understanding constitutes the single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in U.S. history,” said the State Department in its announcement of the agreement.

The new military aid deal is expected to total about $38 billion over a decade, or an average of $3.8 billion per year. However, the sum of the new agreement is significantly lower than what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sought. When negotiations began, Netanyahu asked to increase the aid to $4.5 billion a year, (or $45 billion over ten years). Taking into account aid supplements approved in the past by Congress, the new aid agreement effectively increases the annual aid budget by only about $300 million.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington November 9, 2015. Photo: Kevin Lamarque, Reuters

Netanyahu appears to have agreed to some other major concessions. The newspaper Haaretz reported that he agreed to limit Israel’s ability to lobby Congress for more aid, unless it is at war. The Israeli leader also agreed that Israel will not ask Congress for more aid to develop missile defense systems.

The deal comes despite mounting frustration within President Barack Obama’s administration over Israel’s policy of building settler homes on the occupied Palestinian territories.

Relations between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Obama have been cold, but both leaders have had an interest in putting aside their disagreements and reaching a deal.

The new agreement replaces a memo of understanding that expires in 2018 and will run from 2019 until 2028.

Key points of the US-Israel military deal

The following are the main points of the agreement according to Israeli news media:

Israel will get $3.8 billion dollars annually, $500 million of which will be allocated to developing missile defense systems.
Israel commits not to approach Congress for additional budgets for missile defense systems. In the event of an emergency, Israel can request additional budgets for missile defense systems, but only if the administration agrees to it.
The agreement does not prevent Israel from asking Congress for additional aid on security issues, such as the fight against tunnels or the development of cyber defense systems.
Once the agreement goes into effect, there will be a gradual phasing out of Israel’s right to use 26 percent of the American aid to buy equipment from Israel defense industries.
When the agreement goes into effect, Israel will immediately stop using 14 percent of the American aid to buy fuel for the Israel Defense Forces.