Israel will soon get the most impressive military aid package ever granted by the United States to another country. This was announced two days ago by the American ambassador in Tel Aviv, Dan Shapiro, at the opening of the annual counter terrorism meeting of the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center. Most probably, the signing of the memorandum of understanding will happen in the coming weeks.
The U.S. diplomat has confirmed what the National Security Adviser Susan Rice had anticipated in recent months. On the one hand, the increase of the Israeli military aid package will not be particularly significant — it will go from $3 billion to $3.1 billion to $3.4 billion — but on the other hand, this essential support will be guaranteed until 2029, allowing Israel to maintain its military superiority in a region that encompasses the central and eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and parts of central Asia. Thus, it ensures the aid will continue for another 12-13 years. In this long period, Israel will buy the most powerful new American weapons from U.S. corporations, using the money received from the United States.
Throughout the eight years of the Obama administration, several moments of tension between the U.S. and the right-wing Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu have been reported and analyzed by the media and experts. The most sensational occurrence happened a year and a half ago, when the Israeli prime minister launched a heavy accusation against Obama before the U.S. Congress. He “accused” him of rejecting the idea of a military attack against Iran and choosing to go forward with an agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program instead, one of the few successes of international diplomacy in recent years.