Bibi: "The deal signed will help build Israel's armed forces"

The United States on Wednesday signed an unusual new security agreement with Israel giving the Israeli military $38 billion over ten years.

The deal, largest that U.S. has ever held with any country, sums to $3.8 billion a year beginning in 2019 the budget year.

"This commitment to Israel's security has been consistent and based on a genuine concern for the well-being of the Israeli people and the future of the state of Israel," President Barack Obama said in a statement.

After months of negotiations following particularly tense time in the relationship amid disagreements over the Iran nuclear deal, a record of understanding was signed at the State Department by Israel's national security adviser, Jacob Nagel, and Thomas Shannon, the third-highest-rated U.S. diplomat.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned those tensions but emphasized that the agreement proves that "relations between Israel and the United States are strong and robust."

"There can be disagreements from time to time, but these are conflicts within one family," he said. "They do not affect the extraordinary friendship between Israel and the U.S., friendship that is indicated in this agreement that will help in forming Israel's power in the upcoming decade."

Susan Rice, Obama's national security adviser, called it a sign of Washington's "unshakable commitment" to the safety of the Jewish state.

Rice said the agreements clearly shows that U.S. "will always be there for the state of Israel and its people today, tomorrow and for generations to come."

Nagel addressed the deal as an indication of the "rock-solid alliance" between Israel and the United States.

"Israel has no better friend, no more reliable strategic ally, no more important partner than the United States of America," he said. "Everyone can see and feel the special relationship between our countries and our people."

Israel's ability to spend part of the funds on Israeli military products will be formed out, and ultimately will be spent on American military industries. Israel's choice for spending some internally had been a major obstacle in the deal.

$33 billion will be in foreign military financing funds — used to buy equipment and ammunition — while $5 billion toward missile defense funding.

The previous arrangement allowed funds for Israel's "Iron Dome" missile defense system separately and on an annual basis while the new agreement eliminates Israel from spending a fraction of the funds on military ammunition. Furthermore, Israel has agreed not to ask for additional funds unless a new war breaks out.

The agreement ends months of negotiations that included Israel's decision about whether to strike a deal with the outgoing U.S. president. In February, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unobtrusively drifted the chance of waiting for Obama's replacement in hopes of achieving a better deal.

However, the Obama government wanted to secure the agreement in favor of Obama's legacy. Obama's relationship with Netanyahu has been jittery, and the bond between the countries worsened and world governments struck Iran nuclear deal, an extreme threat to Israel and objected to Obama's claim that the deal made Israel safer by restricting Iran's nuclear plans.

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