US To Pledge $38 Billion Military Aid To Israel

The US has announced that an agreement has reached to provide$38 billion military assistance to Israel for a span of 10 years starting 2019 through 2028.

Senior officials from both sides will sign the agreement on Wednesday in a ceremony in the Treaty Room at the State Department in Washington at 9 P.M. (Israel time). 

"This memorandum of understanding constitutes the single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in US history," said the State Department in its announcement of the agreement. U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice will attend the signing ceremony, but the agreement is expected to be signed by Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon on behalf of the United States.‎

According to sources quoted by Haaretz Tuesday, though Israel demanded $4.5 billion annually during the negotiations, it was expected that the sides would compromise on a lower sum. "Against the backdrop of significant cuts in the U.S. budget, we got an increase of defense aid to Israel," the official said. "The credit for closing the deal goes to the prime minister and to the person who ran the negotiations, acting National Security Adviser Jacob Nagel."