Israel is readying talks with the U.S. administration to negotiate a fresh 10-year security package, with Israeli officials indicating a shift in emphasis from direct cash assistance toward collaborative defence programmes.
Gil Pinchas, who spoke on the matter before leaving his post as chief financial adviser to Israel’s military and defence ministry, said Israel intends to prioritise joint military and defence projects in the forthcoming discussions, which he expected to occur in the coming weeks. He framed the relationship as extending beyond the immediate financial transfer, noting that many elements of the relationship carry value comparable to money.
"The partnership is more important than just the net financial issue in this context - there are a lot of things that are equal to money," Pinchas said. "The view of this needs to be wider." He added that the pure financial support - often described as "free money" - which currently amounts to $3.3 billion a year and can be used by Israel to purchase U.S. weapons, represents a component of the memorandum of understanding that "could decrease gradually."
The current framework was set in 2016, when the U.S. and Israel signed a memorandum of understanding covering 10 years through September 2028. That agreement provides $38 billion in total military aid, of which $33 billion are grants earmarked for procurement of U.S. military equipment and $5 billion are allocated to missile defence systems.
Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped Israel would "taper off" its dependence on U.S. military aid over the next decade, signalling an official intent to move toward more self-reliance or different financing arrangements for defence procurement.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.
Background details already in place will shape the talks: the existing 2016 memorandum of understanding, the annual $3.3 billion grant element available for equipment purchases, and Israeli statements expressing a desire to rebalance the partnership toward joint projects rather than direct cash transfers.
How negotiations unfold could influence procurement planning, defence cooperation mechanisms, and the structure of U.S. military assistance over the next decade.