DAVOS, Switzerland — The
United States and Israel are finalizing details of a 10-year military
aid package that likely will be larger than the $3.1 billion U.S. package
Israel received this year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said
Thursday at the World Economic Forum.
A
military boost from the U.S. is critical following the nuclear deal with
Iran that frees up tens of billions for the Islamic Republic, Netanyahu
said. His government had lobbied unrelentingly against the deal,
which lifts international sanctions in return for curbs on Iran's nuclear
program, and Israel is now on edge as it grapples with the reality of
a newly empowered Iran. Netanyahu had argued that any deal would put
Israel's security at risk.
"What
is clear is that Iran will now have more resources to divert to terrorism and
its aggression in the region and around the world, and Israel is prepared to
deal with any threat," Netanyahu told his cabinet earlier this week.
Netanyahu
also said instability from the civil war in neighboring Syria could allow Iran
or Islamic State to launch attacks into Israel.
"We
don’t want Iran to have a warfront to use against us," he told the
audience in Davos.
Iran,
which has insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, was
certified by U.N. inspectors last weekend to have met terms of the agreement
with world powers that involve dismantling nuclear equipment. That cleared
the way for a lifting of international sanctions and the release of more than
$100 billion in frozen assets held in foreign banks.
About
half of those frozen funds must go to pay off outstanding debts. Israel is
worried that the remainder will be spent on weapons and support for
terrorist groups, although Iran has said it needs the funds to
rebuild a domestic economy long crippled by the sanctions. After the
sanctions were lifted, it announced a deal to purchase commercial airplanes
from European-based Airbus.
Netanyahu
said support for the military aid package is "a sign of how strong the
American Israeli alliance is."
"We have
our disagreements. We always do," Netanyahu said. "This
partnership is rock solid and will remain so."
Netanyahu,
who is here for the annual gathering of world leaders and business
elites, met Thursday with Vice President Biden. The State
Department said Biden "reaffirmed the unshakable U.S. commitment to
Israel's security, and the two leaders discussed ways to further deepen
security cooperation to confront common regional threats."
As
Israel and the U.S. split over the Iran deal, which President Obama
spearheaded, tension rose between the allies. The latest irritant came Monday,
when U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro criticized Israeli settlements
on disputed West Bank land also claimed by Palestinians — as well
as vigilantism — in a speech at a security conference in Tel Aviv.
"At times it seems Israel has two standards of adherence to rule of law in the West Bank — one for Israelis and one for Palestinians," Shapiro said.
The
speech came under sharp attack in Israel, which has weathered a four-month
spate of random attacks by Palestinians, mostly with knives. In the
most recent violence, Palestinians killed an Israeli mother of six
and wounded a pregnant Israeli woman in West Bank settlements.
The
Palestinian attacks on Israelis have killed more than 25 people, while 146
Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including
about 100 Israel alleged were attackers, according to the
Associated Press
On Monday,
the State Department called for "affirmative steps to restore calm, reduce
tensions and bring an immediate end to the violence."
.
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