The deal for the Israel Defense Forces to acquire American V-22 Osprey aircraft was finalized during Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon’s meeting with his American counterpart Chuck Hagel on Friday at a defense ministers’ conference in Halifax, Canada.

V-22 Osprey – Photo: GettyImages

Ya’alon thanked Hagel for expediting the deal and said that the planes that will be supplied to Israel in the near future will further strengthen the IDF. Israel is the first country to receive the aircraft from the U.S.

The V-22 Osprey takes off and lands like a helicopter, but can convert to fly like an airplane at high speeds and altitudes once it is airborne.

Ya’alon also delved into recent Israel-U.S. tensions, saying that “the U.S. and Israel have a deep strategic partnership, based on common values and interests. We very much appreciate the intimate cooperation between the U.S. and Israel, a true friendship that overcomes differences in opinion that appear from time to time, and the extraordinary relationship between the security establishments.”

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman also touched on the issue. “Israel cannot act in the modern world without the coordination and assistance of the United States, its most important strategic partner,” he said. “No alliance with any other country will come close to our alliance with the U.S., but a stronger Israel and a development of ties with others will benefit both [Israel and the United States].”

The shift in U.S.-Israel relations resulting from the Iran nuclear deal has some in the Israeli government concerned. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said the now more fragile relationship has to be carefully tended to. “Construction in Judea and Samaria will bring us to the point of no return, it will lead to a crisis in our relationship with the U.S., our strategic ally.”

View original Israel Hayom publication at: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=13549