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Israel to Receive New Patriot Missiles, Asks U.S. for $10 Billion
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The
(Israeli) Arrow anti-ballistic missile system on display at The
Palmachim Air base in Israel
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OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, November 26 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The United
States has reportedly offered Israel
a new generation of Patriot missiles, as Israeli
officials Monday delivered to their American counterparts a request
for special U.S. aid featuring loan guarantees worth $10 billion as
well as another $4 billion in assistance.
The
new Patriots specially designed to destroy Scud missiles in flight
would be placed under the control of U.S. troops deployed in Israel,
reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Quoting
high-ranking officials, however, the Israeli Public Television claimed
Israel would allegedly decline the offer on the
grounds that it already had Hetz (arrow) anti-missile missiles
developed in cooperation with the United States to face up to a
possible Iraqi attack.
Since
August the Israeli occupation army has had Hetz batteries deployed
north of Tel Aviv in case of an American war on Iraq.
On
November 7, an Israeli-American team successfully tested the latest
Patriot model, an Israeli military source said. The missiles have been
deployed to protect Israel's
nuclear plant at Dimona in the Negev.
On
Monday a German Defense Ministry spokesman said Israel
had also asked Germany for Patriot missiles.
"It
is true that Israel
has asked Germany to supply it with Patriot anti-missile
missiles," the spokesman said in a statement, confirming
information to appear in Tuesday's edition of Die Welt newspaper.
He
said the German government "is currently studying this
request." Israel has not officially confirmed or denied the
report.
In
Washington, meanwhile, Israeli officials Monday, November 25, formally
presented a request for a 10 billion dollars grant in bank guarantees,
as well as other four billions in assistance, the Israeli daily
newspaper Ha’aretz reported.
Israel's
request was submitted by the Israeli Prime Minister's bureau chief Dov
Weisglass, Finance Ministry Director-General Ohad Marani, and Israel's
Ambassador to the U.S. Danny Ayalon. The trio met at the White House
with U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
The
Israeli civilian officials did not present a formal aid request.
Instead, they outlined to Rice the country's needs and the various
possibilities for transfering special U.S. aid. There is room for
flexibility over the way military assistance is defined and the level
of the loan guarantees, the Israelis emphasized, according to Ha’aretz.
Rice
agreed to provide a prompt response to the Israeli aid request,
Israeli sources said. The American government will assent to the
request, in full or in part, Israeli sources believe; however, the
timetable for transferring the aid remains unclear, they said,
according to the Israeli paper.
Israel's
request envisions a multi-year timetable, and features three
components - loan guarantees, military aid, and using some money from
the defense aid package to make various purchases in Israel.
In
what appears to be a test balloon to U.S. hostile plans against
Baghdad, Ha’aretz reported that Israel
is asking to be included in Washington's "post-Iraq" aid
package, which promises assistance to all states that are liable to be
hurt by an impending American attack on Iraq. Media reports have
indicated that the George W. Bush administration has already promised
Turkey $2 billion in annual aid over the next five years as part of
this program.
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