US President Joe Biden is welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Israel in Tel Aviv on October 18 (Photo: Reuters).
Biden, who has been critical of the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said: “We stand with Israel… And we will make sure that Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself and respond to this attack.”
While appearing with Mr. Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said: "You may be strong enough to defend yourself, but as long as America exists, you will never have to. We will always be by your side."
Despite some past policy disagreements, the US has continued to provide unconditional aid to Israel, totaling $158 billion (not adjusted for inflation) since World War II – more than the US has ever provided to any other country.
History of US-Israel relations
The United States supported the establishment of the Jewish state after World War II, but bilateral relations were not significant in the early decades. The relationship only really began to develop after 1967, when Israel single-handedly defeated a coalition of Arab states with relatively few casualties.
Before the war, the US was concerned about Soviet influence in the region, as well as about the conflict escalating into a proxy war. But Israel soon ended the fighting, making it an attractive ally for the US, given that Washington was preoccupied with other issues and could not afford to get involved militarily in the Middle East.
“The significance of the 1967 war was that Israel defeated the Arabs in six days with absolutely no military help from the United States,” said Joel Beinin, a history professor at Stanford University. “It showed the United States, ‘These guys are good. Let’s connect with them. And then things will develop over time.’”
Gaza youth gather around a large battery to charge their phones as Israel cuts off electricity, water and fuel to the area (Photo: New York Times).
Initially, the US mainly donated but also sold weapons to Israel, as well as allowing the country to borrow development assistance from US banks at below-market interest rates. During the 1980s and 1990s, the US and Israel began to cooperate in research, development and production of weapons.
By 1999, when former President Bill Clinton began pushing for lasting peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, the United States signed the first of three 10-year memorandums of understanding pledging billions of dollars in annual military aid.
According to Dr. Olivia Sohns, a former associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida, after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the subsequent increase in instability in the Middle East, Israel's expertise in counterterrorism and homeland security deepened the US-Israeli military-strategic cooperation.
Israel currently receives $3.8 billion in annual military aid from the US under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2019. That represents about 16% of Israel's total military budget in 2022 — a significant proportion but not as large as in the past.
Professor Beinin said Israel’s manufacturing capabilities have now developed to the point where there are few weapons it cannot produce without US help. The exceptions may be the F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, but even parts for those aircraft are now produced in Israel.
This makes Israel the 10th largest military exporter in the world and also makes the US dependent on Israel.
Why does the US believe that Israel is closely tied to its interests?
US officials have long asserted that US-Israel relations would be a stabilizing force in the Middle East, helping to prevent unrest that could threaten their access to oil supplies in the region.
Initially, Israel served as a counterweight to Soviet influence, but this way of thinking persisted after the Cold War. It became even more prevalent after 9/11, when it was discovered that some of the perpetrators of the attacks were citizens of Saudi Arabia, a country the United States also considers an important ally in the Middle East.
Israeli tanks and troops move near the border with Gaza on October 28 (Photo: Getty).
Since then, the US has leaned more towards Israel, believing that the two sides share more common values and interests, such as a shared commitment to democracy. However, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s recent plans to reform the judiciary – which are expected to tighten the power of the courts – have raised doubts about the commitment to democracy.
“It is not just a long-term moral commitment, it is a strategic commitment,” Biden, then vice president, said in 2013. “An independent Israel, secure within its borders and recognized by the world, is in America’s practical strategic interests. I have said… if we don’t have Israel, we will have to build one.”
Israel has recently become a key pillar in the US's goal of creating an "integrated, prosperous and secure Middle East", as it shifts its focus to other regions of the world.
The Trump administration has helped push through normalization deals between Israel and several Muslim-majority neighbors such as the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
Experts say the Hamas attack was aimed at derailing talks brokered by the Biden administration to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia so that the two countries could form a united front against Iran, which backs Hamas.
However, the war in Gaza could threaten Israel's position as a vehicle for the US to create peace in the region.
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