US enforces $38bln military aid package to help Israel fight ‘Iran-sponsored terrorists’

A $38 billion military aid package to Israel, signed between former U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in September 2016, went into effect, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement on Monday.

This agreement means that the United States will give Israel $38 billion in military assistance over the next decade.

“The United States unconditionally affirms Israel's right to self-defense, and this MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) is a concrete demonstration of our commitment to Israel's capacity to defend itself with a qualitative military edge over all potential regional adversaries,” read the statement.

It is the largest aid package given to a foreign state in U.S history.

Praising the ten-year period of “Memorandum of Understanding (MOU),” Nauert underlined in a Twitter post that the Trump administration is also determined to maintain and enhance ties with Israel.

“Today, the ten-year period of the $38 billion MOU signed by the United States and Israel in 2016 begins. Our implementation of this historic MOU reflects the enduring and unshakable commitment of the President, this Administration, and the American people to Israel's security,” she said.

Stressing the strong relations between the U.S. and Israel, “Israel is a valuable and capable ally to the United States that today faces dangerously escalating regional threats, first and foremost from the Iranian regime's sponsorship of terrorist groups seeking to attack not only Israel but also American interests. Israel is also threatened by the reckless proliferation of destabilizing weapons systems into the region that increase the possibility of an escalated conflict in an already dangerous and volatile theater,” the statement added.