What's going on between the Israeli leadership over the next American aid package could almost be described as a revolt. At the start of his faction’s June 20 meeting in the Knesset, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon stood up and said, “The [American] offer is positive and fair. The defense establishment can certainly live with the current offer, and there’s no reason to take any act that will be interpreted as intervention in domestic American issues. I told that to the prime minister and the defense minister, and I am telling you today that we should adopt the proposal and put an end to this saga, while the current administration is still in office. The United States is our most important strategic partner and a true friend, and that is how we should treat her.”

Kahlon made his remarks on the same day that Israel’s fresh new Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman was scheduled to meet his American counterpart Ashton Carter in Washington to discuss the aid package. Liberman’s entourage leaked that his opinion was very similar to that of the finance minister. He believes that Israel should sign the American military aid agreement for the next decade as quickly as possible, while the current administration is still in place, and close the deal once and for all. According to one political source who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, in private talks Liberman expressed cautious optimism, while the people around him agreed that concluding the agreement now is not only possible but desirable.

The Israeli political system allows its ministers to present policies that differ from those represented by the prime minister. Liberman is the leader of Yisrael Beitenu, while Kahlon heads Kulanu, without whose 10 seats Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have no government. From without, it looks like chaos. From within, the situation is even more dire. The people closest to Netanyahu responded sharply to his defense and finance ministers. One political source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “The only person entitled to conduct negotiations with the Americans is the prime minister. Neither the finance minister nor the defense minister are up to date on the most recent developments. The prime minister is in constant contact with the administration. American aid will not be cut, it will be upgraded. Don't you worry about it.”

But those concerns are still very much alive. They are shared by the heads of all branches of the defense establishment, the Israeli security apparatus, top officials at the Foreign Ministry and senior Cabinet members.