United States has agreed to supply Israel with military aid for the next 10 years in a record 38 billion dollars deal – the largest in US history. The pact will elevate US aid to Israel from 3.1 billion dollars a year currently to 3.8 billion dollars, officials say, but the Israelis had to make concessions to secure the money. The agreement, to be signed today, follows 10 months of talks. It was approved despite frustration within the Obama administration at Israeli settlement building.<br/><br/>US State Department said the agreement, which replaces a 10-year package set to expire in 2018, constitutes the single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in US history. Israel will receive, among other things, 500 million dollars a year for missile defence programmes. But the pact includes an undertaking that Israel will eventually spend all of the funds through the American defence industry, rather than its own military contractors.
News On AIR | September 14, 2016 7:22 AM
US agrees to supply largest military aid to Israel for next 10 years