Israel seeks 20-year military aid deal with US, targeting Trump’s approval

Israel wants to sign a new 20-year security agreement with the US. This agreement would double the normal duration and include “America First” provisions to win the support of the Trump administration.

According to Axios, while the previous agreement promised Israel about $4 billion in military aid annually, the Netanyahu government appears to be requesting at least that much in the future.

However, due to growing frustrations with Israel, including from Donald Trump’s “MAGA” base, securing such an agreement has become more complicated.

The current 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in 2016 during the Barack Obama administration, expires in 2028. Israel wants to sign the new agreement within the next year.

Negotiations are complex both technically and politically due to MAGA’s opposition to foreign aid and bipartisan concerns about Israel’s occupation in Gaza.

In 2024, during the war in Gaza, Congress and the Biden administration approved a multi-billion dollar emergency military aid package for Israel, in addition to the 10-year MoU.

Israeli officials hope the next package will further increase annual aid, but they are concerned that negotiations will be more difficult after the Trump administration significantly cut foreign aid.

Trump, in a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last April, touched on the US military aid to Israel, saying, “We give Israel $4 billion a year. That’s a lot. Congratulations, by the way. That’s pretty good. But we give Israel billions of dollars a year, billions.”

During these discussions, the Israeli side presented two proposed changes to the new security agreement. The first proposal was to extend the agreement’s duration from 10 to 20 years.

The second change proposed by the Israelis was for a portion of the money to be used for joint US-Israel research and development projects instead of direct military aid.

An Israeli official said this could be in the areas of defense technology, defense-related artificial intelligence, and the Iron Dome missile defense project.

An Israeli official said, “This is out-of-the-box thinking. We want to change the way we handle past agreements and place more emphasis on US-Israel cooperation. The Americans like this idea.”

Three 10-year framework agreements for long-term security assistance to Israel were signed in 1998 ($21.3 billion), 2008 ($21.3 billion), 2008 ($32 billion), and 2016 ($38 billion).

According to two Israeli officials and one US official, negotiations on the new security memorandum were delayed for some time due to the war in Gaza, but initial talks have begun in recent weeks.

This format seems designed to appeal to the Trump administration’s “America First” instinct, as American aid could in this way benefit the US military instead of simply being sent to Israel.