Agence France-Presse, The U.S. will sign a pact this week providing $30 billion in military aid to Israel over a decade, the State Department said Aug. 14.
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, who will make a three-day visit to Israel starting Aug. 15, “will sign the memorandum of understanding on the new $30 billion, 10-year military assistance package,” the department said in a statement.
The package was unveiled by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on July 30 as part of a new military pact with U.S. allies in the Middle East in a bid to “counter the negative influences” of militant groups al-Qaida and Hezbollah, as well as arch-enemies Iran and Syria.
They include a $20 billion weapons package for Saudi Arabia, a $13 billion package for Egypt, and reportedly arms deals worth at least $20 billion for other Persian Gulf states.
The military aid to Israel reflected an increase of more than 25 percent, Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said, describing the package as a considerable improvement and very important element for national security.
“Other than the increase in aid, we received an explicit and detailed commitment to guarantee Israel’s qualitative advantage over other Arab states,” he said following recent talks with President Bush.
With current U.S. defense aid to Israel standing at $2.4 billion a year, the new package will hike the value of assistance to the Jewish state by $600 million a year on average, officials said.
The two countries are increasingly alarmed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which have already incurred international economic sanctions. Iran insists its nuclear program is designed for peaceful civilian energy purposes.
Burns will meet with Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and other Israeli officials during the visit in which “discussions on regional security, including the challenge posed by Iran” would be held, the State Department said.
Burns will also meet with Palestinian Authority leaders regarding “the development of a political horizon” and American humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.
The U.S. is striving to forge a deal for the establishment of a Palestinian state ahead of an international meeting called for by Bush in the fall.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said last week he had positive talks with Olmert in the West Bank city of Jericho, the first time in seven years that such a high-level meeting has taken place on Palestinian territory.
