By Matt Spetalnick and Patricia Zengerle7 hrs ago
©
REUTERS/Gali Tibbon/Pool Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he opens the weekly cabinet meeting at
his Jerusalem officeThe United States and
Israel have agreed on a record $38 billion package of U.S. military aid and
will sign the new pact on Wednesday, enshrining defense funding for
Washington’s closest Middle East ally for the next decade, officials said.
The
deal will represent the biggest pledge of U.S. military assistance made to any
country but also involves major concessions granted by Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, according to officials on both sides and U.S. congressional
aides.
Those
include Israel’s agreement not to seek additional funds from Congress beyond
what will be guaranteed annually in the new package, and to phase out a special
arrangement that has allowed Israel to spend part of its U.S. aid on its own
defense industry instead of on American-made weapons, the officials said.
Israel’s
chief negotiator, Jacob Nagel, acting head of Netanyahu’s national security
council, arrived in Washington in preparation for the signing ceremony, and the
White House also began briefing members of Congress on the deal.
Nearly
10 months of drawn-out aid negotiations have underscored continuing friction
between President Barack Obama and Netanyahu over last year's U.S.-led nuclear
deal with Israel's arch-foe Iran, an accord the Israeli leader opposed. The
United States and Israel have also been at odds over the Palestinians.
But
the right-wing Israeli premier decided it would be best to forge a new
arrangement with Obama, who leaves office in January, rather than hoping for
better terms from the next U.S. administration, according to officials on both
sides.
A
deal now allows him to avoid uncertainties surrounding the next president,
whether Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump, and to give
Israel’s defense establishment the ability to plan ahead.
Obama's
aides want a new deal before his presidency ends, seeing it as an important
part of his legacy. Republican critics accuse him of not being attentive enough
to Israel's security, which the White House strongly denies, and of taking too
hard of a line with the Israeli leader.
Israel
has long been a major recipient of U.S. aid, mostly in the form of military
assistance against a backdrop of an ebbing and flowing conflict with the
Palestinians and Israel's neighbors, as well as threats from Iran.
The
10-year aid packages underpin Washington’s congressionally mandated requirement
to help maintain Israel’s “qualitative military edge” in the region.
MISSILE DEFENSE
The
deal, known as a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, calls for $3.8 billion a
year in aid, up from $3.1 billion annually under the current pact, which
expires in 2018, officials say. Netanyahu had originally sought upwards of $4.5
billion a year.
The
new package for the first time will incorporate money for Israeli missile
defense – setting the amount at $500 million a year - which until now has been
funded ad hoc by Congress. U.S. lawmakers have in recent years given Israel up
to $600 million in annual discretionary funds for this purpose.
Officials
say Israel has agreed not to lobby Congress for additional missile defense
funds during the life of the new MOU, a pledge expected to be made in a side
letter or annex to the agreement. But the wording is likely to be flexible
enough to allow exceptions in case of a war or other major crisis.
The
State Department and Netanyahu’s office coordinated the release of brief
written statements declaring that the deal was complete and would be signed at
a ceremony in Washington on Wednesday. Neither side offered details but the
State Department said on Tuesday it “constitutes the single largest pledge of
bilateral military assistance in U.S. history.”
The
pact will not be signed by Obama and Netanyahu, who have had a fraught
relationship, but by two of their senior aides, in keeping with the way the two
governments have formally sealed previous deals of this type. Nagel and U.S.
Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon will sign the
document.
Netanyahu
gave ground on several major points. He conceded to a U.S. demand for a gradual
phasing-out, starting in 2020, of the 26.3 percent share of the aid money that
Israel can spend on its own military industries rather than on American
products. The provision originated in the 1980s to help Israel build up its
defense industry, which is now a major global player.
Netanyahu
also agreed to end Israel’s use of 13 percent of the U.S. money on military
fuel purchases, officials said.
Obama
and Netanyahu will both be in New York next week for the opening of the U.N.
General Assembly, and officials have not ruled out the possibility of a meeting
on the sidelines.
Negotiators
working behind closed doors had all but completed the new package several weeks
ago. But an announcement was quietly put on hold as objections were raised by a
key pro-Israel lawmaker, Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who had called
for a more generous and less restrictive aid package, sources familiar with the
matter said.
It
was unclear, however, whether the administration’s differences with Graham had
been resolved or it had decided to go ahead with the announcement anyway.
U.S.
congressional approval is needed each year for disbursement of the aid to
Israel as part of the annual budget process. But little opposition is expected
in Congress, where support for Israel’s security is strong.
(Additional
reporting by Luke Baker in Jerusalem; Editing by Alison Williams and James
Dalgleish)
