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Defense establishment fears US may cut military aid
The Defense Ministry is concerned that US President Barack Obama will cut military aid to Israel in an effort to pressure the new government to take action against illegal outposts and settlement construction, defense officials said. The officials spoke with The Jerusalem Post ahead of both a visit later this week by US Middle East envoy George Mitchell and the Obama administration's anticipated release of the fiscal 2010 budget, which includes funding for foreign aid. "Mitchell is a known opponent of the outposts and the settlements," a senior defense official said. "The Americans may try to use the military aid as a way of pressuring the new government into dismantling outposts and freezing construction in settlements." Already last week, Defense Minister Ehud Barak held consultations on the matter. But the Defense Ministry's jitters regarding US military aid were not shared by the Prime Minister's Office or the Finance Ministry. Officials in the latter two offices said they had not heard of any plans to cut American military aid to Israel, which was set out in a 2007 memorandum of understanding signed by both countries. Posted by: Fred 2009-02-24 |
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