US Congress advances US-Israeli military integration plan | Government News

A provision in a bill before the US Congress could link the US and Israeli militaries much more closely, deepening their cooperation on weapons research, production and technology.

The proposal, titled “U.S.-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative,” appears as Section 224 of the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2027, the annual U.S. defense policy bill.

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The measure is still in its infancy. The NDAA is passed each year by Congress to set U.S. military policy and authorize defense programs and spending levels.

If passed, the provision could mark a major shift in one of the world’s closest military relationships, moving the two countries from a partnership largely focused on U.S. military aid to one in which their defense industries are more deeply intertwined.

Section 224 would require the U.S. Secretary of Defense to appoint an “executive agent”: a single official to coordinate military cooperation between the United States and Israel.

This work would cover joint research and development, shared weapons production, and linking military systems and data.

“What Congress is trying to do now is find different ways to ingrain the relationship so deeply into America’s defense industrial base that it’s impossible to eradicate,” Josh Paul, a former U.S. State Department official and founder of the advocacy group A New Policy, said of the controversial provision.

“A new section of law in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would give Israel unprecedented access to American technology and require the U.S. military to integrate Israeli defense technologies into our own critical military supply chain, giving Israel incredible leverage over America’s own defense priorities,” he added in a video posted Friday on social media.

The two countries are already building missile defense systems together, such as Iron Dome.

The bill would extend their joint work to many other areas of modern warfare, from artificial intelligence (AI) to drones and cyber operations.

The provision comes amid unrest in the Middle East following the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran earlier this year.

In February, U.S. and Israeli forces jointly attacked Iran, sparking five weeks of war; Iran retaliated against Israel and US bases in the Gulf before a ceasefire was established in April.

Israel also faces allegations of genocide in a case brought by South Africa before the International Court of Justice, the UN’s highest court, over its war on Gaza.

Decades of support

The bill must first be approved by the House Armed Services Committee, which is expected to review it in early June, and then passed by the full House and Senate.

It was proposed by the committee’s Republican chairman, Mike Rogers, and its top Democrat, Adam Smith, giving it support from both major parties, even as opinion polls suggest growing opposition among U.S. Democrats and some Republicans to additional military support for Israel.

The United States has supported the Israeli military for decades.

Since 2008, US law has required Washington to protect Israel’s “qualitative military advantage”, keeping its forces stronger and more advanced than those of any rival in the region, on the grounds that a small country must rely on better weapons rather than larger numbers.

Under the current aid deal signed during former President Barack Obama’s administration, Washington provides Israel with about $3.8 billion a year in military assistance. The 10-year agreement runs until 2028.

Israel has been the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid since 1948, almost all of it now military and worth well over $300 billion when adjusted for inflation.

The nature of this support could now change. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recently that he wants to end Israel’s dependence on US military aid within 10 years, saying his country has “come of age.”

Closer cooperation between the two defense industries, rather than monetary cooperation, would likely meet this objective.

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