U.S. to Approve Record $38 Billion Military Aid to Israel Over Next 10 Years
Image Credit: AlgemeinerBY: Alexa George/Contributing Writer
This week, Israel and the United States have reached a conclusive agreement on a new aid package. The newest deal calls for giving $3.8 billion annually to Israel’s military budget over the course of ten years, totaling $38 billion.
The deal is known as a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, and represents the largest distribution of military assistance made to any country, replacing the $3.1 billion per year pact.
While there have been a series of negotiations over the past 10 months between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S President Barack Obama, the current deal will supposedly be signed later this week.
Interestingly enough, neither Netanyahu nor Obama will sign the deal; instead, their senior aides will sign it, which supposedly maintains the historical significance of previously negotiated deals.
Before agreeing on $38 billion, Netanyahu requested upwards of $45 billion over the course of the next ten years. After finally agreeing on $38 billion, Netanyahu has agreed to not seek additional funding outside of the package from Congress for the next ten years. This agreement will be made in a side letter to the original deal and will most likely include clauses for exceptions.
The new pact will contain funding for Israeli missile systems, which were previously funded independently by Congress. It also prevents Israel from spending American given money on its own weapons industry, which Netanyahu originally took issue with.
In addition to other concessions by Netanyahu, Israel will also no longer use 13% of the aid on military fuel.
The nearly yearlong deal has seen its fair share of setbacks, including the nuclear deal with Iran and issues regarding Palestine. The latest barrier came from U.S Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who strongly opposed the agreement. Graham wanted a slightly more generous and less constricting deal, but the $38 billion have been made official.
The new deal also provides security, while preventing further uncertainty of U.S.-Israel financial relationship for the incoming U.S. president in January.
It is important to note that U.S. congressional approval is needed for the distribution of funds to Israel, but with such strong support for Israel, there should be very little resistance.