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US Senate urges Obama to conclude increased Israel military aid deal

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A large bipartisan majority of US Senators yesterday sent a letter to President Obama, urging him to quickly reach a new, increased military aid package with Israel, given dramatically increased regional defence challenges.

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. During a visit to Israel last month, US Vice President Joe Biden warned that Israel would likely receive less that it had requested, while still ensuring Israeli security.

Yesterday, 83 Republican and Democrat US Senators – comprising more than 80 per cent of the Senate – sent a letter to President Obama in support of an increased military aid deal, saying “In light of Israel’s dramatically rising defence challenges, we stand ready to support a substantially enhanced new long-term agreement to help provide Israel the resources it requires to defend itself and preserve its qualitative military edge.”

The letter listed a range of security threats facing Israel, including Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon, ISIS-affiliates in the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, and “the likelihood” that Iran will again attempt to develop a nuclear weapon. The Senators said that Washington should “enhance its investment in the long-term security requirements of our closest Middle East ally.”

In response to the letter, Reuters reports that an unnamed White House official has said that Washington is “prepared to sign an MOU [memorandum of understanding] with Israel that would constitute the largest single pledge of military assistance to any country in US history.”

In addition to military aid, the United States has worked in partnership with Israel to develop the country’s missile defence system, including the Iron Dome which successfully neutralized much of Hamas’ missile threat from Gaza during Operation Protective Edge in 2014.