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The U.S. congress
approved Friday the
transfer of 600 million
dollar in aid to Israel
for joint defense
projects, in addition
aid Israel receives from
America, Haaretz Daily
reported.
The aid approved will be
used to fund joint
security projects
between Israel and the
U.S, according to media
reports.
The main component in
the package, according
to the Jerusalem Post,
is the Arrow
anti-missile system, a
collaborative project
between Israel Aircraft
Industries and Boeing.
Congress provided 133
million dollars for the
arrow, 45 million more
than what the U.S.
government requested for
this project, so that
the extra money be used
to increase the pace of
the production of the
Arrow components in the
U.S, and thus enable
Israel complete its
anti-missile shield.
Also some $10 million
will be invested in
developing a missile
capable of intercepting
short-range missiles.
It was reported earlier
this month that Israel
successfully tested its
Arrow anti-missile
system, in response to
what the Defense
Ministry officials
described as the
mounting threat of
ballistic missiles in
the region.
The 600 million dollar
aid package also
includes funding armor
tiling for Bradley
personnel carriers, for
aircraft decoy systems
and for the Hunter and
Pioneer unmanned air
vehicles, the Post
stated.
"Congress is continuing
its strong support for
cutting-edge defense
programs, which benefit
the United States and
Israel and strengthen
their strategic
partnership," said Josh
Block, spokesman for
AIPAC, the pro-Israeli
lobby, which accelerated
the approval of the
package.
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