PM stresses defense aid ahead of Obama meeting

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he plans to discuss defense aid with President Barack Obama as he left for his first meeting with the US leader in over a year.

Netanyahu is due to meet Obama on Monday in Washington as the two leaders seek to set aside their testy personal relationship and turn the page after a sharp disagreement over the July nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

The talks are to focus on US defense aid to Israel in a bid to assuage the Jewish state over the security challenges it says it now faces due to the nuclear accord, which Netanyahu firmly opposed.

Israel already receives more than $3 billion per year in US military aid in addition to other spending, such as on the Iron Dome missile defense system. The 10-year arrangement expires in 2017, and there have been reports that Netanyahu will seek a significant increase.

“I believe that this meeting is important in order to clarify the continuation of American aid to Israel in the coming decade,” Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting on Sunday. “It will be another step toward realizing an understanding in this direction.”

The new 10-year defense deal will not be finalized during the Obama-Netanyahu summit, and it would come into effect only after the current accord expires, US officials have said.

— AFP