US approves $2bn arms sale to Israel despite diplomatic strain

The US State Department and the Pentagon have approved a huge arms deal with Israel consisting of thousands of bombs and missiles worth approximately $1.9bn (€1.71bn), US officials have confirmed.

The deal will see Washington sell 3,000 Hellfire missiles, 250 medium-range air-to-air missiles, 4,100 glide bombs, 50 BLU-113 'super penetrator' bombs and 700 'bunker buster' bombs, given the name as they are powerful enough to reach underground sites.

This is a large deal by US-Israeli trade standards, and stands at just over half of the annual US aid budget to Israel, which is worth $3.1bn (€2.78bn) annually as part of a 10-year $30bn (€26.95bn) aid package established by the Bush Administration in 2007.

Last year, Washington suspended the transfer of surface-to-air missiles to Israel in protest at the country's Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip. In last summer's 50-day conflict, over 2,100 Palestinians - at least 1,585 civilians - were killed, according to UN and Palestinian accounts, and 72 Israelis - all but five soldiers - died, according to Israeli accounts.

"The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability," a statement from the US Department of Defence said.

"Israel, which already has these munitions in its inventory, will have no difficulty absorbing the additional munitions into its armed forces," it added. "The proposed sale of these munitions will not alter the basic military balance in the region."

The deal still requires approval from Congress. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency, a body within the US Department of Defence, confirmed that it had submitted the relevant paperwork to Congress on 18 May.

Ron Gilran, vice-president at the Tel Aviv-based geopolitical risk consultancy The Levantine Group believes that this arms deal could signal that a nuclear agreement with Tehran is close and Obama is attempting to show that he is still committed to the security of Israel despite worsening relations over the past year.

"The timing is interesting. Bringing this for Congress approval could indicate that a deal [with Iran] is nearing, because you would expect something like that to happen anyway, that Israel and also the GCC countries would be compensated somehow," says Gilran.

"I think that possibly we are seeing an attempt to send a message not only to the Israeli government but also to the Israeli public," he adds. "[Obama] needs Israel, it cannot continue as it is now if he wants to make progress. You have to appease Israel and this is one of the ways."

The relationship between Obama and Netanyahu has worsened as the Iranian nuclear negotiations have progressed. In March, the Israeli leader travelled to Washington to deliver a controversial speech to the US Congress about the dangers of a nuclear deal after accepting an invitation from House of Representatives speaker John Boehner without Obama's approval. In a blatant snub to Netanyahu, the president hosted a conference call with other world leaders in the middle of the Israeli premier's speech.

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