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US approves record $38bn Israel military aid deal US approves record $38bn Israel military aid deal
(about 13 hours later)
The US has agreed to supply Israel with military aid for the next 10 years in a record $38bn (£28.bn) deal - the largest in US history. The US has agreed a military aid package for Israel worth $38bn (£28bn) over the next 10 years, officials say, the largest such deal in US history.
The pact will elevate US aid to Israel from $3.1bn a year currently to $3.8bn, officials say, but the Israelis had to make concessions to secure the money. The previous pact, set to expire in 2018, saw Israel get $3.1bn annually.
The agreement, to be signed on Wednesday, follows 10 months of talks. The new agreement follows 10 months of behind-the-scenes talks and will be signed on Wednesday.
It was approved despite frustration within the Obama administration at Israeli settlement building. Pro-Palestinian groups criticised the deal, saying it rewards Israel despite the ongoing construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The agreement, which replaces a 10-year package set to expire in 2018, "constitutes the single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in US history", said the state department. A pro-Israel lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, said the deal would send a "strong message of deterrence" to Israel's enemies.
Israel will receive, among other things, $500m a year for missile defence programmes. Last month, the White House warned that the construction of settlements posed a "serious and growing threat to the viability of a two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But the pact includes an undertaking that Israel will eventually spend all of the funds through the American defence industry, rather than its own military contractors. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
Israel must also not seek additional funds from Congress beyond what will be guaranteed annually in the new package. A brief statement issued by the US state department on Tuesday said the new memorandum of understanding with Israel on security assistance, running from 2019 until 2028, constituted "the single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in US history".
Mr Obama has sought to demonstrate his support for Israel's security in order to undercut criticism that his administration has not been supportive of its Middle East ally. Officials said the new package would for the first time incorporate money - $500m a year - for Israeli missile defence programmes. They were previously funded on an annual basis by Congress.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had signalled he might wait for Mr Obama's successor in the hope of securing a better deal. Israel had agreed not to lobby Congress for additional funds during the lifetime of the deal unless a new war broke out, the officials said.
Relations have been sour between the two leaders since March 2015, when Mr Netanyahu appeared before US Congress to lobby against the Iran deal advocated by Mr Obama. The pact also reportedly includes an undertaking that Israel will eventually only use the money to buy products from the US defence industry, rather than its own.
Officials say Mr Obama and Mr Netanyahu may meet for talks at next week's UN General Assembly meeting in New York. Israel will no longer be able to spend some of the funds on fuel for its military too.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have also been a sticking point between the allies. US President Barack Obama had been keen to strike a deal before leaving office to counter criticism that his administration had been insufficiently supportive of a key ally's security.
Only last month, the White House chided Israel for a "dramatic acceleration" in such building on occupied Palestinian territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had signalled that he might wait for Mr Obama's successor in the hope of securing a better deal worth up to $4.5bn a year.
Washington has also said Mr Netanyahu's policies, as well as Palestinian violence, are jeopardising chances of a peace deal. Relations have been strained between the two leaders for years, and worsened in March 2015 when Mr Netanyahu appeared before Congress to lobby against the Iran nuclear deal advocated by Mr Obama.
Mr Obama and Mr Netanyahu are expected to address the UN General Assembly in New York next week, but no plans for a formal meeting have been announced.