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Israel, US agree 10-year military aid package

Reporter: Stephanie Freid 丨 CCTV.com

09-18-2016 05:57 BJT

The United States has inked an agreement to provide its biggest military aid package to Israel. The move signifies the America's aligned strategic goals and continued cooperation in the Middle East. Israel, however, reportedly accepted the deal with a number of concessions.

"This is the single largest pledge of military assistance to any country in U.S. history. And that’s not an accident. It’s a reminder of the United States’ unshakeable commitment to Israel," US National Security adviser Susan Rice said.

Thirty eight billion dollars spread out over ten years.
The U.S. defense aid commitment to Israel marks a 7 hundred million dollar increase over the previous package.

"This unprecedented assistance will also cover a robust missile defense program through the next decade for the first time and will help us effectively plan and develop multi-layer defense systems to counter the growing missile threats in our region," Israel's National Security General Yaakov Nagel said.

U.S. spending on Israel missile defense is ongoing - the U.S. invested in Israel’s Iron Dome defense system and jointly developed the Arrow anti-missile shield
The United States and Israel routinely conduct combined missile defense training and field exercises.

But a condition for receiving the hefty aid package calls for Israel to give up the right to spend a about twenty six percent of that money locally on its own arms industry."

Local procurement will be phased out over a number of years - Israel will instead direct funds towards defense purchases in the U.S. Local analysts say it’s meant to be a win-win situation

"American is paying a low price for the most stable and safest airplane career in the Middle East which happens to be Israel," Political analyst Boaz Bismuth said.

The deal is also reportedly aimed at pacifying Israel’s concerns over potential threats from Iran.

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