The United States will give Israel $38 billion in military assistance over the next decade, the largest such aid package in us history, under a landmark agreement signed on Wednesday.
Ehud Barak, Israel's Former Prime Minister and Defense Minister, has said that current PM Benjamin Netanyahu had made a hash of Israel's negotiations that led to the recent signing of a military aid deal with the USA work $38 bn over ten years.
Graham led in recent months a campaign in recent months to increase USA military aid to Israel beyond what the Obama administration had offered, and even publically confronted the White House on the subject while using harsh language.
"They can sign it, it's up to them, but I will not consider the MOU as binding on Congress and we can appropriate based on our own view of the situation", Graham said regarding the agreement signed by United States and Israeli representatives on Wednesday.
The security agreement, which begins in the 2019 budget year, is set to last 10 years and amounts to $3.8 billion annually.
Graham also says he opposes the agreement because it would block Congress from allotting more money than the deal mandates.
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Graham said there is ample support in Congress among Republicans and Democrats for providing Israel with more military aid. The current deal expires in 2018 and gave Israel $3.1 billion in military assistance each year.
The Obama administration is trying to "neuter" Congress but undercutting its ability to appropriate money, according to Graham.
"The idea that the MOU is binding on us, I'm going to fight violently", Graham said.
While National Security Advisor Susan Rice insists the aid deal is separate from the issue of a two-state solution, others consider Obama's statement a not-so-subtle message. Graham said he also pushed for a $300 million hike in the foreign military financing account.
Graham, a hawkish, pro-Israel Republican from SC, told reporters September 14 that the 10-year, $38 billion pledge was too little and the White House wrongly sought to stop Congress from adding to it.
To solve the crisis, Netanyahu offered the White House a pledge, that Israel would not lobby Congress for additional funds beyond those agreed in the new aid package without the White House's consent.
