Delegations from the United States and Israel began discussions this week on a new long-term security cooperation agreement as the two countries navigate their evolving relationship.
Daniel Holler, counselor to the State Department, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee are leading the U.S. delegation, while Defense Ministry Director-General Amir Baram and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter are representing the Israelis. They held the inaugural talks this week, and further sessions will occur in the coming weeks.
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Huckabee said the new deal will “end direct aid to Israel for a value-added mutually beneficial comprehensive partnership.”
This new agreement will replace the existing memorandum of understanding, which went into effect in 2018 and will expire in 2028.
“The new framework, reflecting the strategic vision of Israel’s Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, is designed to strengthen the IDF’s qualitative military edge through expanded joint investment in research, development, and co-production, deepen the U.S.-Israel partnership demonstrated during Operation Roaring Lion, and gradually transition from aid to a completely reciprocal partnership,” a statement from the Israeli Ministry of Defense said.
The subject of the U.S.-Israel relationship has been highly scrutinized both in light of the wars that Israel fought against Iranian proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, and more recently in light of their collective war against the Iranian regime.
While the U.S. is trying to negotiate a long-term agreement with Iran, the Iranians are insisting that the current short-term ceasefire prevents Israel from carrying out attacks against Hezbollah, which was once its most vaunted proxy force, in southern Lebanon. The U.S. is simultaneously working on negotiating a long-term deal between Israel and Lebanon, which includes ending Hezbollah’s presence near the Israeli border. Hezbollah has not agreed to the ceasefire. By intertwining the deals, Iran can try to prevent both itself and its top proxy force from sustaining more losses.
The Israeli military’s war in Gaza — the killing of more than 70,000 people, civilians and terrorists alike, and the destruction of broad swaths of the territory — raised allegations of war crimes and genocide from leading rights groups, which it disputes. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three of Hamas’s senior leaders, whom Israeli forces ultimately killed in the war.
While Israeli forces have badly destroyed Gaza, the group is still refusing to disarm to move the international community into a phase of reconstructing the territory.
The Israeli military’s conduct in Gaza and the region was unpopular globally, and it has divided lawmakers on Capitol Hill as well.
ISRAEL-LEBANON CEASEFIRE COULD UNDERMINE HEZBOLLAH AND IRAN WITH STATE-TO-STATE COOPERATION
The U.S. House Armed Services Committee approved a measure in the National Defense Authorization Act, called Section 224, that calls for further integration within the two militaries. It specifically states the the secretary of defense would be required to designate “an executive agent responsible for synchronizing cooperative efforts between the United States and Israel, including bilateral defense technology research, development, testing, evaluation, integration, and industrial cooperation.”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), a progressive on the committee, issued an amendment to sink the provision, but it failed. The bill itself has not passed both chambers yet.
