Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listens as President Barack Obama speaks during their meeting, Monday, March, 5, 2012, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
According to reports in the Israeli press, planned talks between Israel and the US on a one-time, multi-billion dollar military aid package in “compensation” for US approval of the Iran nuclear deal remain on hold, with focus on a planned increase in annual military aid to Israel.
The US currently sends Israel $3.1 billion annually in military aid, and the increase is expected to bump this up by roughly another billion dollars. Such plans tend toward 20-year timeframes, meaning the spending will add up to $20 billion more.
US military aid by and large isn’t cash, but rather credits used to purchase weapons from certain well-connected US arms makers, meaning the aid program amounts to a subsidy for both the Israeli military and for major US manufacturers.
Israeli DM Moshe Ya’alon is expected to visit the US next week for discussions on this aid hike, with expectations that a final deal on the bump would be announced during an upcoming visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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