Israel, US military ties back on track

Israel and the United States signalled they were putting disputes over the Iran nuclear deal behind them, announcing resumed talks on US defence aid for Israel as it hosted Washington's top general and a joint air force drill.

The allies had been looking to agree on a 10-year military aid package to extend the current U.S. grants to Israel worth $3 billion annually, which are due to expire in 2017.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu froze those negotiations ahead of the July deal reached between Iran and world powers, which Israel deems insufficiently stringent and against which it had lobbied the US Congress.

"With the nuclear deal now moving ahead, Israel is also moving ahead, hoping to forge a common policy with the United states to address the continuing dangers posed by Iran," Ron Dermer, Israel's ambassador to the United States, said in a Facebook post.

The most senior US military officer, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Marine General Joseph Dunford, arrived in Israel on Saturday in his first foreign trip since assuming the post on Oct 1.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday said he would meet the Israeli and Palestinian leaders on separate trips to Germany and the Middle East after days of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Israel and the Palestinian territories have been plunged in violence and unrest for more than two weeks, leaving 41 Palestinians and seven Israelis dead and raising fears of a full-scale Palestinian uprising.