Israel to get $38 billion in military aid

The United States has agreed a record multi-billion-dollar deal to provide Israel with military assistance for 10 years from 2019, according to U.S. officials.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu confirmed the deal had been reached but offered no additional comment.

Although not signed yet, the U.S. State Department noted that the agreement will be signed on Wednesday, and "constitutes the single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in USA history". While this allowance benefitted Israeli business, it was different in kind than with other military aid packages the US offers.

The aid talks took almost 10 months and highlighted continuing tension between Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama over the nuclear deal he championed previous year with Iran, Israel's archenemy.

The $38 billion deal, which will govern the U.S. -Israel defense relationship through 2028, includes supplemental funding for missile defense that Israel received until now outside the MoU framework.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the terms of the deal included some compromises on the part of Israel, such as prohibition from seeking more funds from Congress, an added condition to phase out United States aid spending on its defense industry, and to progressively increase the use of aid for American made weapons. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.

The Obama administration has often been at odds with the state of Israel over a number of issues, despite the significant amount of military aid, especially with respect to the Iran nuclear agreement, which Tel Aviv has adamantly opposed.

Israeli officials have said predictability about United States. aid is crucial to help its military to plan for the future.

Ms Rice and Yaakov Nagel, her Israeli counterpart, are expected to attend the signing ceremony.

"I think President Obama sees this as vindication of his belief that there's an iron-willed distinction between his commitment to Israel's security and whatever policy differences might exist between the two countries", Makovsky said. In total, the deal comes to $3.8 billion a year for Israel, according to The Washington Post.

Negotiations for the agreement were carefully timed by Israeli leadership, which was debating whether or not to strike the deal with Obama so close to the election. Securing the deal ahead of the USA. presidential election in November also ensures that Mr Obama's successor will not have to immerse him or herself in the issue during the first few months.

"There's a phrase for that - it's called ethnic cleansing", Mr Netanyahu said.

Both parties in Congress have sought to outdo each with displays of support for the Jewish state. Israel had originally requested at least $4.5 billion a year.

Netanyahu and Obama both plan to be in NY next week for U.N. General Assembly meetings, but officials have not announced any plans for formal meeting.