Israel signs ‘historic’ $38B military aid deal with US

In what has been deemed an historic deal for the size and scope of the military aid package Israel will receive from the US over the next ten years, both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding which gives Israel approximately $38 billion – slightly more than past years and more than any other country.

Israel and the US on Wednesday signed a deal on military aid to the Jewish state over the next decade in a special ceremony at the State Department in Washington.

The aid package totals approximately $38 billion, and entails certain provisos.

After months of negotiations, the US and Israel have agreed on a $38 billion assistance package to the IDF that will be provided over the next 10 years. It totals approximately $3.8 billion a year — up from the $3.1 billion the US gave Israel annually under the previous 10-year security assistance deal.

This is the largest military assistance package that the United States has ever given to any country.

Obama’s National Security Adviser, Susan Rice, represented the US, while Israel’s acting national security adviser, Jacob Nagel, signed for Israel.

Rice called the aid package a sign of Washington’s “unshakable commitment” to the security of the Jewish state. She said the agreement makes clear that the US “will always be there for the state of Israel and its 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. “Israel has no better friend, no more reliable strategic ally, no more important partner than the United States of America,” he said. “Everyone can see and feel the special relationship between our countries and our people.”

An ‘Historic Agreement’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded the deal as an “historic agreement” which ensures “an unprecedented level of security assistance to Israel.”

The agreement will assist Israel in “continuing to build up our military strength and in continuing to improve our missile defense,” he stated. “This is of course a very important achievement for the State of Israel, and Israeli citizens can rightly be proud of it.”

He thanked President Barack Obama and his administration for the aid, and Israel’s “many, many friends in the American Congress and among the American people for their great support, which crosses party lines and embraces the length and breadth of the United States.”

“Many in the United States understand that investment in the security of Israel strengthens the stability of the unstable Middle East and serves not only our security interests but those of the United States as well,” he added.

“This agreement illustrates a simple truth: relations between Israel and the United States are strong and steadfast. This does not mean that we do not have disagreements from time to time, but these are disagreements within the family. They have no effect on the great friendship between Israel and the United States, a friendship that is expressed in this agreement, which will greatly assist us in continuing to build up Israel’s strength in the coming decade,” he concluded.

‘America’s Commitment to Israel’s Security is Unshakeable’

President Obama said in a statement that “America’s commitment to Israel’s security is unshakeable.”

“The new 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on security assistance that my Administration signed with the Government of Israel today is just the most recent reflection of my steadfast commitment to the security of the State of Israel,” he said.

“For as long as the state of Israel has existed, the United States has been Israel’s greatest friend and partner, a fact underscored again today. 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,” he stated.

By: Aryeh savir, World Israel News