Israel praised the US for including a “record-breaking” $705 million to aid the country’s missile defense.
By: AP and United with Israel Staff
Israel’s defense minister has thanked the US for including a “record-breaking” $705 million to aid the country’s missile defense in the spending bill passed last week.
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Monday that the aid will be used for the development of Israel’s air defense system.
“Our enemies will be surprised by the capabilities we have developed,” Liberman said.
The Arrow 2 and Arrow 3, the highly successful Iron Dome system and David’s Sling are all part of Israel’s multi-layered defense system. They provide an almost hermetic defense against a wide array of ballistic projectiles, with eyes on the Iranian ballistic threat and those posed by the Hezbollah terror organization in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
The US provides $3.1 billion in military aid to Israel each year under a 10-year security arrangement. The $705 million is a separate allocation and is up from the $600 million provided for missile defense last year.
US President Donald Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill on Friday that provides billions in new funding for the military and national security. The bill includes $47.5 million for joint anti-terror tunneling technologies – a $5 million increase from last year.
The bill was also the vehicle for Congress to pass the Taylor Force Act on Friday, legislation that cuts funding to the Palestinian Authority if it continues paying terrorists and their families – a practice that incites terrorism.