US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who is the most senior official in President Joe Biden’s administration, has arrived in Israel. He will discuss with his Israeli counterparts regional issues and bilateral military deals.
With the visit of Austin to Israel, there was a return to talk about US military aid to Israel, its impact on its qualitative advantage, the total Israeli dependence on American support, and the positions opposing its continuation.
Below we review a number of the most important information related to this aid:
When did the US military aid to Israel begin?
American military aid to Israel began in 1949 and reached millions of dollars, but the military cooperation between them actually began in 1952 with the signing of an agreement for bilateral logistical support, followed by an agreement on their political and security cooperation.
Since 1958, Israel began receiving US security and military aid, which became permanent after the 1967 war, after France ended its security relations with Israel, and the US aid reached its peak after the peace agreement with Egypt in 1979.
In 1985, the late Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres agreed with George Shultz, the former US Secretary of State in the administration of President Ronald Reagan, on an annual grant of 3 billion dollars, mostly for security and the purchase of military equipment.
Although Israel is today one of the most powerful countries in the region, it expresses its attachment to the continuation of US military aid in its desire to obtain political and diplomatic cover for its military actions.
What is the size of US military aid to Israel?
American aid to Israel constitutes 55% of all US aid to the world, and since 1948 has amounted to nearly $ 130 billion, and other estimates indicate that it has reached $ 270 billion, and the United States approved an aid package for Israel for the years 2019-2028 at a value of $ 38 billion, and includes funding for military projects. Joint protection against missiles.
The US military aid to Israel represents 18% of the latter’s military budget, under which it purchases weapons worth $ 815 million annually, and allocates $ 500 million to strengthen missile defenses, including Iron Dome.
Where are the US military support for Israel concentrated?
The American military aid contributed to the development of the Iron Dome anti-missile system for the Palestinian resistance, with more than one billion dollars, and the development of the "Hitz" anti-missile system by more than two billion dollars, and the United States deployed the X-Band radar system in the territories. Occupied Palestinian Territory, which has the ability to detect enemy missiles, as well as supply Israel with the F-35 fighter jets (F-35).
The US military support to Israel includes Washington storing its military supplies with the latter, so that its forces can ask Washington to use them in times of emergency, as happened in the 2006 Second Lebanon War and the 2014 Third Gaza War.
Why does Israel need US military aid?
The number of US-Israeli military cooperation agreements in the military and security fields has increased to 25 agreements, all of which are in the interest of Israel in order to increase its military capacity, and to introduce advanced technology in its weapons and weapons systems, and to ensure its superiority over the surrounding Arab countries at least.
Perhaps one of the US explanations for providing this large amount of its military aid to Israel is that it is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and it seeks to protect itself through the possession of combat military equipment.
Israel does not hide its relief, because the annual US military grant is provided exclusively in full at the beginning of each year and is not divided according to the example of other countries of the world, and the strategic depth of Israel is limited, and it needs safe borders and quick relief, and this is not achieved through its own forces, but rather from American support.
How does US military aid affect Israel's qualitative edge?
American aid to Israel contributed effectively to strengthening it militarily over the past decades, and it has become a primary source of funding and a central provider of the weapons it requires.
The American military aid caused the Israeli army to acquire American combat equipment in an up-to-date manner, to preserve the qualitative and quantitative advantage of Israel over the countries of the region in the armament and military aspects.
In 2008, Congress recognized that, with this superiority, Israel would be able to eliminate any traditional threat from any single country, or through a coalition of several countries, or several groups and organizations that are not international.
The US aid to the Israeli army reflects its desire to enhance its strength and maintain its qualitative military advantage over the neighboring armies, to compensate for some of the weaknesses that Israel suffers from being small geographically and in terms of population compared to its potential enemies.
To what extent does Israel benefit from US aid in wars?
The US military aid aims to enable Israel to achieve its superiority in any military confrontation with minimal material damage and casualties, through the use of highly advanced combat tools and weapons.
US aid also provides Israel with the required quantities of weapons, control and control, communications, intelligence, tracking and information gathering devices, all of which are capabilities available to Israel that make it capable of confronting one or several countries within a hostile military alliance.
The Israeli military industries have benefited from US support, becoming the seventh largest exporter of weapons in the world, and have sold armaments equipment for more than $ 6 billion.
The Israelis still remember what happened during the war of October 1973 when they received unprecedented aid represented by the American airlift, which carried modern weapons valued at two billion dollars.
Why do Israelis oppose US military aid?
Despite the advantages and achievements of the US military aid to Israel, it did not prevent the emergence of high-level Israeli voices calling for an end to it, a call that began in 1992.
When Benjamin Netanyahu was elected prime minister for the first time in 1996, he was convinced of the idea and began a policy of phasing out this aid.
One of the Israeli reservations about the continued flow of US military aid is that it deals a painful blow to the local armament industries. Some of the terms of the bilateral military agreements emphasize the need to spend all US military aid money in the United States, which means that local Israeli companies may lose two billion dollars annually and lose 22 billion dollars annually. A thousand Israeli workers have their jobs.
Former Israeli Minister of Justice Yossi Beilin affirmed that "Israel owes the United States its generous aid, but on the other hand it makes it dependent on it, and with the passage of time the Israelis are not free to buy military equipment from others at reasonable prices, which results in the weakening of the Israeli military industries."
The head of the Knesset Finance Committee, Moshe Gafni, warned that "US military aid may cause unacceptable damage, and while the aid will increase, Israeli society will collapse from within."
General Eyal Bin Reuven, former commander of military colleges and former deputy commander of the Northern Command, warned that "US military aid may cause Israel to lose its independence in times of emergency."
What is the reason for US calls to stop military aid to Israel?
On the other hand, many American officials hinted that the military aid provided to Israel needs to be reconsidered, and former President Donald Trump has repeatedly reminded of the need to pay the costs of American security assistance to Israel, and although this aid does not exceed 1% of Israel's gross product, it has turned into a habit.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called for a radical change of Israel's behavior towards the Palestinian people as a condition for the continuation of US military aid to it.
And a survey by the Center for American Progress in 2019 showed that 56% of Americans want to restrict financial aid.