US has given Israel $3.1bn in military funding already this year

“Taking with Israel, this year the United States has given $3.1 billion in foreign military finance,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Middle East Policy Matthew Spence said yesterday.

Speaking at the annual Herzliya Conference, Spence went on to say that this was “the most the United States has given in US history”.

He explained: “The United States want to make sure that it does whatever it can to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge, and that’s the iron clad commitment to make sure that Israel has exactly what it takes to defend against any enemy or any combination of enemies that could threaten its security. This commitment is not just in Israel’s interest, but in America’s interest as well.”

Spence noted that three weeks ago more than 700 US troops participated in the Juniper Cobra training in Israel, which is the largest military exercise conducted this year. “The type of close collaboration we have between our two countries, I think, is really impressive.

“America remains firmly committed to this region, firmly committed to the state of Israel, firmly committed to our mutual security,” he stressed.

The Herzliya Conference, which is organised annually by the Israeli Institute for Policy and Strategy in the city of Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, is the most important conference held in Israel with the participation of senior political and security Israeli officials to talk about the Israeli policies and strategies.

The conference which was held this year under the title “Israel and the future of the Middle East” concluded yesterday.