Tel Aviv: If the surprising initiative of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is implemented, the Israeli defence industry will be able to increase the purchase of European defence systems and enhance the joint development with European companies.
In an interview with The Economist, Netanyahu said he would seek to restructure or completely give up the American financial assistance to the security of Israel.
According to the Prime Minister, the political environment has changed in America in terms of how much the country is willing to spend on foreign aid, and at the same time the Israeli economy has grown sufficiently that it can try to manoeuvre toward much greater independence in weapons production.
If this surprising initiative is materialised, the Israeli ministry of defence and defence industry will be free to create greater cooperation with European defence industry. This was not possible as long as Israel has received the FMF funds.
The current 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in 2016 under President Barack Obama and is expected to expire in 2028. Israel is interested in concluding negotiations on the new agreement within the coming year. The negotiations are expected to be complex both technically and politically, due to growing opposition among Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters to foreign aid and bipartisan criticism of Israel’s use of American weapons.
So far, according to sources, the Israeli aim was to extend the agreement’s term from 10 to 20 years, giving it a broader scope and extending it until the 100th anniversary of Israel’s independence in 2048.
The surprising initiative of the Israeli Prime Minister created a mixed reaction in the Israeli defence establishment and the defence industry.
The supporters of the Prime Minister’s initiative say that giving up the FMF money will give Israel more flexibility in achieving its goals than with the “attached strings” to the US. The voices against claimed that the FMF agreement has helped Israel to get the critical defence systems.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
