Friend's help: what is behind Trump's proposal for a military alliance with Israel

US President Donald Trump said he had discussed with the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, the prospects of signing an agreement on mutual military assistance. The American leader wrote about this on his Twitter.

“Today we phoned Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the possibility of concluding an agreement on mutual defense between the United States and Israel, which would further strengthen the strong alliance of our two countries. I look forward to continuing these discussions after the elections in Israel, when we will meet on the UN fields in the second half of September! ”Trump said.

I had a call today with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the possibility of moving forward with a Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and Israel, that would further anchor the tremendous alliance ....

Trump's proposal has been publicly supported by Netanyahu.

“Thank you, my dear friend, President Donald Trump. The Jewish state has never had a better friend in the White House. I look forward to our meeting at the UN in order to advance towards a historic defense treaty between the United States and Israel, ”the Israeli Prime Minister noted on Twitter.

Thank you my dear friend President @realDonaldTrump. The Jewish State has never had a greater friend in the White House. I look forward to our meeting at the UN to advance a historic Defense Treaty between the United States and Israel.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, later in an interview with the 12th and 13th channels of Israeli television Netanyahu said that the American side initiated telephone conversations. The prime minister promised that the new agreement would ensure the security of the two states for generations ahead, noting that he had already won the United States recognition of Israel sovereignty over the Golan Heights and withdraw from the nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Action Plan) with Iran.

In turn, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz emphasized that such an agreement should be directed primarily against Tehran.

“I advocate the signing of a clearly defined defense agreement between the United States and Israel, which would be directed against Iran, to solve the problem of nuclear weapons, as well as to counter the threat posed by ballistic missiles, and would not limit Israel’s activities in other areas,” - said the head of the Israeli diplomatic department.

Special ally

Israel is traditionally considered one of the highest priority US allies in the Middle East. The Jewish state receives annually from Washington billions of dollars for military needs. After the signing of a new budget bill by Donald Trump in February 2019, according to the Times of Israel, annual US military assistance to Israel reached $ 3.8 billion, as Brookings Institution expert James Kirchik, United States noted in a March article in The Atlantic. spend more on Israel’s military financing than on any other country in the world.

American and Israeli troops traditionally hold joint exercises, exchange defense technologies, and do not stop military-technical cooperation. In September 2017, the United States opened its first permanent military base in Israel near the city of Be'er Sheva. American air defense and missile defense systems are located at the facility.

Nevertheless, from the point of view of international and national law of the United States, Israel has a different status than many American allies in Europe and East Asia.

Thus, NATO members are protected by the 5th article of the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty, obliging allies (and the United States among them) to come to the rescue in case of aggression against one of its members. The 1960 U.S.-Japan Mutual Security Assurance Treaty provides that both countries together provide security for the Japanese islands. A similar agreement, signed by the United States and South Korea in 1953, provides for mutual defense in the Pacific.

Even with Australia and New Zealand, the United States has a clause on mutual defense under the 1951 ANZUS treaty, but not with Israel.

The formal basis of the US-Israeli alliance is the 1981 Memorandum of Understanding in the Area of ​​Strategic Cooperation between the governments of the United States and Israel. However, the main goal of this agreement - the counteraction of the USSR - for almost three decades now looks outdated due to the absence of the Soviet Union on the political map of the world.

And the “memorandum of understanding” is not a full-fledged agreement. Such an agreement concerns cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries and does not imply ratification by the legislative bodies. It does not contain provisions on the mandatory provision of mutual military support by partners in the event of an attack on one of the countries.

As a leading researcher at MGIMO, Yuri Zinin, noted in an interview with RT, the United States has assisted Israel since the founding of this state in the middle of the last century. But the United States developed these ties, taking into account relations with Arab allies in the Middle East. Therefore, Washington tried to avoid wording in relations with the Israelis indicating which side of the Arab-Israeli conflict it occupies, the expert believes.

According to Zinin, the Trump administration, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the sovereignty of the Jewish state over the Golan Heights seized from Syria, refused the course that gave Washington a certain freedom of action in Middle Eastern affairs.

“Previously, Americans tried to maneuver in order to maintain their economic relations, primarily with oil-producing Arab countries. Now they believe that it is possible to openly demonstrate their special military relations with Israel, ”the expert said.

Electoral interests

As the British newspaper The Guardian notes, Trump’s proposal to conclude a military alliance agreement between the United States and Israel may be related to the September 17 parliamentary elections in the Jewish state. Thus, the American president seeks to support Netanyahu, the newspaper notes. Israeli Prime Minister intends to win the victory of his Likud party and remain in power, having received a majority in the Knesset.

According to Yuri Zinin, this assumption is justified.

• US President Donald Trump during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem
• Reuters
• © Jonathan Ernst

“Netanyahu once again demonstrated the strength of relations with the United States, which, of course, plays into the hands of his authority in Israeli society,” the expert emphasizes.

In addition, he notes, in view of the high level of support for Israel in American society, especially among the electorate of the Republican Party, while providing Netanyahu, Trump does not forget about himself, because he will also participate in the elections next year.

“The leadership of the United States and Israel constantly emphasize close ties with each other in the electoral processes,” the political scientist explains. - Netanyahu needs to show that the United States stands behind him. And it’s important for Trump to have a pro-Israeli lobby on his side, which has influence in the States. So the leaders find a common language, and that suits them. ”

Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Center for Military-Political Studies of the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, agrees with this viewpoint.

“Trump, unlike his predecessors, openly chose the pro-Israeli course. And one of the reasons is that its nuclear electorate is a fundamentalist white Protestant who holds pro-Israeli views. And now, in the midst of the election campaign, it is important for the American leader to mobilize his supporters, including by demonstrating his proximity to the state of Israel, ”Batyuk emphasized in a conversation with RT.

Ambiguous support

According to The Guardian, some circles in Israel may be interested in concluding a new defense agreement to provide the country with US military assistance in the event of a possible conflict with Iran.

Israeli publication The Jerusalem Post notes that earlier, Senator Lindsay Graham, who traditionally advocates a tough policy against Tehran, initiated the signing of such an agreement. On the eve of Graham called on the United States to consider the possibility of striking the oil infrastructure of the Islamic Republic.

On September 4, The New York Times Magazine published an investigation alleging that in 2012, the Israeli Air Force was preparing to launch an airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

In turn, the main rival of Netanyahu in the upcoming elections - the former chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces Benny Ganz - after the statements of Trump and Netanyahu opposed the signing of the agreement, because “the mutual defense agreement requires us to coordinate (work in the field of. - RT ) security with The United States. "

“We never asked anyone to die for us, did not ask anyone to fight for us, and did not ask anyone for the right to defend the state of Israel,” the politician emphasized.

As the former head of Israeli military intelligence Amos Yadlin noted, the costs of a possible formal military pact with the United States for the Jewish state exceed the benefits, writes The Jerusalem Post.

• Israeli army personnel during exercises
• AFP
• © JACK GUEZ

Yadlin believes that a military alliance agreement with the United States will limit the freedom of action and planning of the Israeli army. The following principles of defense policy may come into question: the lack of the need to coordinate their actions with the United States, the refusal to give an unambiguous answer to the question of Israel’s nuclear weapons and the refusal to wage war in other parts of the world.

Problem perspectives

As noted by Vladimir Batyuk, while the prospects for a treaty between the United States and Israel on mutual military assistance are vague due to intra-American political problems. Such an agreement must be approved by Congress. On the one hand, his lower house is controlled by Democrats who do not support many Trump initiatives. On the other hand, the Israeli lobby may try to overcome this resistance. Not everything is unequivocal with regard to supporting pro-Israeli initiatives in the American Jewish community, where there are different points of view on this subject.

“A lot will depend on the extent to which the Israeli lobby manages to mobilize all the resources of the Jewish community living in the United States,” Batyuk notes.

According to Yuri Zinin, the possible signing of an agreement on mutual defense can only fuel conflicts in an already problematic region.

“It is unlikely that this will cause applause from the Arabs, even the Gulf countries,” the expert says. - For these states, claiming to be the leaders of the Islamic world (especially for Saudi Arabia), the support of Palestine is important. They will need to somehow react to this - to confirm their solidarity with the just demands and aspirations of the Palestinians. Iran will also take advantage of this pact. ”

According to Zinin, the guarantee of security in the region is the establishment of relations with neighbors and the rejection of unilateral military pressure and threats, which Israel often resorts to.

“Constantly emphasizing one’s power superiority based on the United States is unlikely to contribute to a peaceful settlement,” the expert said.

In turn, Vladimir Batyuk believes that by making an unequivocal bet on Israel, Washington risks weakening allied relations with Arab countries.

“This step will mean a serious aggravation of US relations with the states of the Arab world. In addition, it will contribute to a change in the geopolitical orientation of the oil-producing countries of the Persian Gulf from the quasi-union with the USA to other world centers of power, including Russia, China and, probably, India, ”the expert summed up.