US to boost Israel’s defence aid

TEL AVIV: US defence aid to the Israeli regime is likely to increase after 2017, sources on both sides said on Thursday, seeing a possible link to Washington’s efforts to assuage its ally’s fears over nuclear diplomacy with Iran.
A current package worth $3 billion a year expires in 2017. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said negotiators were close to a new deal that would bring annual payouts to $3.6-$3.7 billion on average.
An Israeli official, who also declined to be named, put the expected aid at between $3.5 billion and $4 billion.
“They [the United States] are trying to douse the fires after our flare-up about the Iran deal,” the official added, referring to curbs being negotiated on Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme, which Israel has condemned as insufficient.
In Washington, the Pentagon had no immediate comment. A spokesman for Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon, asked about the US aid figures, said: “This is not a matter that has been discussed recently.”