BICOM

During their meeting yesterday, US Vice President Joe Biden urged Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sign a proposed new agreement for American military aid.

The current memorandum of understanding between the United States and Israel details a defence package worth more than £2 billion, but is due to expire in 2017. The two countries have been discussing a new ten-year agreement, but apparently gaps still exist on the financial extent of the deal and the military hardware it will include. Washington is keen to conclude the arrangement, but reports suggest that Israel’s government and in particular Prime Minister Netanyahu believe that a more beneficial deal can be struck with President Obama’s successor.

According to reports, Biden yesterday urged Netanyahu not to delay finalising the new arrangement. Ynet reports that Biden said military aid for Israel, which comprises roughly half of the US defence aid budget, has bipartisan support, but that delaying the deal could endanger this. Biden said that although Israel would not get everything that it has requested in the proposed arrangement, in the past money has later been found for specific projects, such as the Iron Dome anti-missile system.

During his press conference with Netanyahu, Biden also assured Netanyahu that Washington will ensure that Iran complies with the nuclear deal agreed with the international community, saying, “If in fact they break the deal, we will act. We will act.” Biden also said that there had been an “epiphany” among some Arab states, who he said had “realised they would rather be in your [Israeli] orbit than the orbit of ISIS.” Consequently, said Biden “there is an awful lot of talk” in these countries about peace with Israel, adding “we can make real progress.”

Biden also met with Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin yesterday, emphasising the need to reduce extremism. Biden said, “The two-state solution and a strong and secure Israel are very much in the interests of the United States.”