Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon is visiting Washington, DC, to discuss maintaining Israel’s military edge in the Middle East. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO.

JNS.org – Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon is visiting Washington, DC, to meet with his American counterpart Ashton Carter and begin talks on maintaining Israel’s military edge in the Middle East.

“During this visit, I will be meeting with my good friend Secretary of Defense Ashton (Ash) Carter, who has time and again proven his commitment to the security of the State of Israel,” Ya’alon said Monday night at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, the Jerusalem Post reported.

“We will discuss how to further increase the IDF’s capacity and capabilities to maintain our qualitative edge, given increased and growing regional threats on the security of our country,” Ya’alon added.

Ya’alon is seeking to resume negotiations on another 10-year U.S. military aid package to Israel. The current aid package, worth about $3 billion annually, is set to expire in 2017. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had suspended talks over the aid package in July ahead of the signing of the Iran nuclear deal. Before the suspension, both sides were close to agreeing to a new package of aid worth $3.6-$3.7 billion per year.