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Israel is central outpost of imperialism: Analyst

Friday, 22 January 2016 11:42 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 22 January 2016 11:42 PM ]

Israel’s standing in the United States and in its political culture will continue to increase, says Eric Draitser.

Israel’s role as a key component of the imperial system allows Tel Aviv to "extort" more money out of Washington, says an American geopolitical analyst.

In an interview with Press TV on Friday, Eric Draitser said it is not surprising that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “the Israeli establishment are trying to use the implementation of the Iran deal in order to extort more money out of the United States.”

Netanyahu told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Swiss on Thursday that Washington and Tel Aviv are finalizing details of a 10-year military aid package that will be larger than the $3.1 billion US package Israel received this year.

He added that US military aid to Israel is even more important following the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal, under which Tehran will receive more than $32 billion of unfrozen assets.

According to reports, Israeli officials have asked the US to increase its annual military assistance by 60 percent to an average of $5 billion a year over the 2018-2028 decade.

Draitser said the Tel Aviv regime’s suggested 60 percent increase in annual aid means that Israel is aware of its role as an increasingly determining factor in US politics.

“In other words, that Israel’s standing in the United States and in US political culture, not only has it not been diminished, but that it will increase; that its importance to US imperial strategy for the region will of course increase and as such, it needs to be funded and furnished with all the latest in military hardware so that it can, not only continue its brutal and violent oppression of the Palestinian people, but that it can extend its hegemony throughout the region,” he explained.

Over the last 70 years, Washington has viewed Israel as “an important outpost” of the imperial system, Draitser added.

“Israel is central to the war on Syria, Israel is central to the US client status of Saudi Arabia and the (P)GCC [(Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council],” he continued.

“Israel is an essential outpost of the empire and Israel is playing that role to a tee and exploiting it, as Netanyahu always does,” the analyst concluded.

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