BICOM

An agreement has been reached over a new ten-year US military aid package to Israel, following ten months of talks.

The US State Department made the announcement yesterday, saying that the memorandum of understanding will operate from the 2019 fiscal year through to 2028. The announcement described the deal as “the single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in US history”. It is reported to be worth £29bn, an approx. £6bn increase on the current arrangement which expires next year.

Talks on the new package have been ongoing since as far back as November 2015. It is thought that there were two major sticking points on the new deal, which have only recently been resolved. Reports indicate that Israel has agreed to the gradual phasing out of the current arrangement whereby Israel is permitted to spend up to 40 per cent of the aid package on defence purchases in Israel.

In addition, Israel has also reportedly agreed to Washington’s preference to include spending on Israel’s missile defence system within the overall military aid package. Until now, missile defence spending has been subject to a separate allocation by US Congress. Haaretz reports that Israel will sign an annex to the agreement which pledges not to hold contacts with Congress over the next decade regarding increased aid for developing missile systems. However, an additional annex also reportedly allows Israel to ask for further aid in the event of an emergency, such as a war.

The US State Department said that the agreement will be signed today in the Treaty Room at the Department of State. It is expected to be signed by US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon and Israel’s acting National Security Council head Jacob Nagel, who has led negotiations for Israel. Also attending will be US National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Israel’s Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer.