Some 83 senators sign a letter to Obama urging him to quickly approve a “substantially enhanced” military aid package for Israel, Reuters reports.
“In light of Israel’s dramatically rising defense challenges, we stand ready to support a substantially enhanced new long-term agreement to help provide Israel the resources it requires to defend itself and preserve its qualitative military edge,” the letter says.
Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Chris Coons were behind the letter, according to the report. Republican presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz signed the letter, while Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders did not. Some 51 Republican senators and 32 Democratic senators were signatories.
The US currently gives Israel $3.1 billion annually in defense aid, a number Israel is hoping to increase when the package is renewed for another decade. The White House has been involved in intensive talks with Jerusalem on reaching a deal before Obama leaves office, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted he may wait for Obama’s successor to try and secure a better deal.
— Times of Israel staff contributed
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