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Israel Searching for New Allies Despite Record Military Aid Package From US

© AFP 2023 / GIL COHEN-MAGEN Israeli soldiers walk near an Israeli Irone Dome defence system (L), a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the MIM-104 Patriot (C), and an anti-ballistic missile the Arrow 3 (R) during Juniper Cobra's joint exercise press briefing at Hatzor Israeli Air Force Base in central Israel, on February 25, 2016. Juniper Cobra, is held every two years where Israel and the United States train their militaries together to prepare against possible ballistic missile attacks, as well as allowing the armies to learn to better work together.
Israeli soldiers walk near an Israeli Irone Dome defence system (L), a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the MIM-104 Patriot (C), and an anti-ballistic missile the Arrow 3 (R) during Juniper Cobra's joint exercise press briefing at Hatzor Israeli Air Force Base in central Israel, on February 25, 2016. Juniper Cobra, is held every two years where Israel and the United States train their militaries together to prepare against possible ballistic missile attacks, as well as allowing the armies to learn to better work together. - Sputnik International
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The United States and Israel reached an agreement on a major defense assistance package, the largest Washington has ever given to any nation. However, the $38 billion 10-year deal will hardly reverse a major shift in Israel's foreign policy that has seen the country's relations with the US cool down as it looks for new partners in the Middle East.

"Despite record levels of US military assistance to Israel under the Obama administration, the state of US-Israel relations has worsened, not strengthened, in recent years," Chen Kane, Seth Carus and Nima Gerami wrote for the National Interest.

This process cannot be reduced to personal enmity between outgoing US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"At the core of this tension are fundamental differences in threat perceptions, strategic prioritization, and policy options for confronting unprecedented change in the Middle East," the analysts said.

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Washington has been discontent with Tel Aviv's settlement policy in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, saying that additional Jewish communities on what the Palestinians consider occupied lands will make it significantly harder to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. In addition, the White House has been dissatisfied that the peace process has been in deep freeze in recent years.

For its part, Israel was in for a rude awakening when Netanyahu found out that the Obama administration launched talks with Iran and was apparently determined to reach a deal on Tehran's nuclear program despite Tel Aviv's concerns on the issue. Israel views Iran as the key security threat.

© AP Photo / Kevin Lamarque/Pool PhotoUS Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, in Vienna, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, on what is expected to be "implementation day," the day the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verifies that Iran has met all conditions under the nuclear deal.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, in Vienna, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, on what is expected to be implementation day, the day the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verifies that Iran has met all conditions under the nuclear deal. - Sputnik International
US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, in Vienna, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, on what is expected to be "implementation day," the day the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verifies that Iran has met all conditions under the nuclear deal.

"The signing of the Iran nuclear agreement last year widened US-Israeli strategic differences and contributed to a growing perception, shared by Tel Aviv and Gulf Arab capitals, that the United States is tolerating Iran's antagonistic role in the region at the expense of its traditional allies," the experts noted.

The nuclear deal also came at a time when Washington appeared to be intent on disengaging from the Middle East and focusing on Asia.   

"As a result, Israel has discovered that its strategic interests are more aligned with those of the Sunni Arab world and Turkey than with the United States," Chen Kane, Seth Carus and Nima Gerami said. "Israel's recent outreach to Gulf Arab states and Turkey is emblematic of their shared sense of abandonment by the United States and a common interest in developing new security relationships to compensate for what they all see as a US desire for rapprochement with Iran and a reduction of America's footprint in the region."

This is not to say that Washington's strategic alliance with Israel will become weaker. Analysts agree that it will most likely remain strong in the coming years, but it does not mean that relations between American and Israeli leaders will drastically improve.  

In Sept. 2012, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel shows an illustration as he describes his concerns over Iran's nuclear ambitions during his address to the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters. - Sputnik International
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"My bet is within six months, and certainly by the end of 2017, the next US president and Prime Minister Netanyahu will be butting heads and annoying the hell out of each other," Middle East analyst Aaron David Miller suggested.

According to a recent survey released by Mitvim, the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies and the Global Political Trends, Israelis wanted the government to breathe life into the peace process with the Palestinians and improve relations with other countries, particularly the US and moderate Arab nations.

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