Israel May Postpone Signing Military Assistance Deal With U.S.

YERUSHALAYIM

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the weekly cabinet meeting that “Israel will postpone the agreements with the U.S. for security assistance with compensation for the Iran deal until after the American elections if the size of the package will not answer Israel’s security needs.”

Netanyahu reiterated the Israeli position that the Iran deal was a bad one, and that Israel was promised increased assistance in keeping with the increased danger from Iran. But Israel will not rush to sign a deal with Washington, and will prefer to wait for a new president, who may offer Israel more than the incumbent.

It is worth noting that last week the American delegation came to Yerushalayim to discuss the security package with their Israeli counterparts.

In Yerushalayim, senior officials are hinting that the negotiations with the Americans were “difficult” and “complex.” Even though less than a month ago, it appeared that Washington was agreeable to most of the Israeli requests. However, in the last round of talks, it emerged that the gap between Yerushalayim and Washington is large, and it might require a special meeting between Netanyahu and Obama to achieve a breakthrough.

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