- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
United States will ask Congress to give Israel $2.22 billion in military
assistance in the fiscal year 2005, $60 million more than in 2004, the
U.S. State Department said in a statement on Monday.
-
- The increase is in line with a 1990s agreement which
reduces economic assistance to Israel by $120 million a year while adding
$60 million a year to the military component of the package, the largest
Washington gives to any country.
-
- The statement, issued after talks in Israel last Wednesday
and Thursday between senior U.S. and Israeli officials, said the Bush administration
was committed to enhancing Israel's security and "maintaining Israel's
qualitative edge over any combination of adversaries".
-
- It said the United States would continue to seek funding
for future U.S. participation in selected joint research and development
projects with Israel.
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- U.S. economic support to Israel stood at $600 million
in 2002 but under the agreement, which dates back to the Clinton administration,
it will disappear by 2008.
-
- Apart from the annual military and economic assistance,
the United States is also guaranteeing international loans by Israel up
to an amount of $9 billion over three years.
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- The $9 billion is liable to deductions equivalent to
the Israeli government's spending on settlements in the Palestinian territories
but the United States has given Israel clearance to start borrowing before
deciding how much it will deduct.
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