US National Security Adviser Promises Israel “Largest Military Package Ever”

US National Security Adviser Susan Rice on Monday told a conference sponsored by a pro-Israel organization that the military aid agreement currently being negotiated between the United States and Israel will be “the single largest military assistance package with any country in American history.” Since 1979, Israel has been receiving some $3 billion each year in military aid, with the proviso that most of it is spent inside the US. When the time came to renew the pact, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu publicly mused about waiting for a new administration to take office before proceeding with the negotiations, eventually deciding to pursue talks with the Obama administration. The new 10-year deal is expected to end up worth between $37.5 and $40 billion. Seeking to extol yet temper American largesse for the Jewish state, Rice, in her remarks, admonished that Israel’s policy of building on West Bank land conquered in the 1967 war that the Palestinians claim for statehood “corrodes the prospects for two-states,” a reference to the so-called “two-state solution” that is official US policy. Covering all bases, Rice also condemned the spate of stabbing attacks against Israelis that have been rife since October.