WASHINGTON — The United States and Israel have signed a new aid deal that will give the Israeli military $38 billion over the course of 10 years. It's the largest such agreement the U.S. has ever had with any country.
After months of negotiations, the unprecedented deal was signed at the State Department on Wednesday.
The aid totals $3.8 billion a year — up from $3.1 billion the U.S. gave Israel annually under the current 10-year deal that expires in 2018.
Under the agreement, Israel's ability to spend part of the funds on Israeli military products will be phased out, eventually requiring all of the funds to be spent on American military industries.
Israel's preference for spending some of the funds internally had been a major sticking point in the deal.