Israel reportedly seeks to secure a new decade-long security deal with Washington

The Israeli government is discussing a new 10-year security agreement with Washington, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Israeli officials reportedly want to secure continued U.S. military assistance, even as signals from Jerusalem suggest it is seeking a more independent long-term future without relying on billions of dollars in U.S. grants.

Gil Pinchas, outgoing financial advisor to the IDF chief, emphasized that the strategic agreement with the United States extends beyond the financial dimension.

"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 told the Financial Times. "The view of this needs to be wider."

Pinchas argued that the “free money,” amounting to $3.3 billion annually that Jerusalem can use to buy American arms, constitutes “one component of the MOU (that) could decrease gradually.”

In 2016, Washington and Jerusalem signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) stipulating the U.S. would provide Israel with military aid amounting to $33 billion in grants for buying U.S. arms for 10 years. In addition, the package included $5 billion to fund Israel's aerial defense systems.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated earlier this month that he intends to end Jerusalem’s military aid agreement with Washington within the next decade. In an interview with The Economist, he said this move was already “in motion” and that he believes the Jewish state should be “as independent as possible.”

“I’d like to do everything I can to fight the propaganda war waged against us,” Netanyahu stated, a comment that appeared to reference a common perception that U.S. taxpayers “finance” Israel’s defense, while highlighting what he described as the intelligence and technological benefits Washington receives in return. Netanyahu also said he “will continue to fight for the allegiance of the American people.”

“I’d like to do everything I can to fight the propaganda war waged against us,” Netanyahu stated, a comment that appeared to reference a common perception that U.S. taxpayers “finance” Israel’s defense, while highlighting what he described as the intelligence and technological benefits Washington receives in return. The prime minister also said he “will continue to fight for the allegiance of the American people.”

Senior Israeli officials have increasingly signaled that Israel needs to reduce its reliance on imports of critical military hardware. This view has sharpened since the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack, as a growing number of countries have threatened to impose boycotts against Israel.

Last September, Israel announced it would invest $60 million to support local startup military technological innovation.

“For the first time, we are launching a tender to establish state-guaranteed funds for [defense] innovation,” the Finance Ministry's accountant-general, Yali Rothenberg, said at the time.

“The funds will encourage investment in advanced technologies in the defense sector, companies that establish manufacturing activity in Israel, with a focus on companies with growth potential, while bringing competition to the Israeli defense market.”

Last month, Netanyahu announced a $110 billion investment over the next decade to boost the domestic Israeli defense industry.