Image link: U.N. says Israel violated international law, after shells hit school in Gaza
WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Friday rushed through a $225 million bill to replenish Israel's missile defense system, and House approval was expected in the final hours before lawmakers began a summer break.
The money will go to restocking Israel's Iron Dome, which has been credited with shooting down dozens of incoming rockets fired by Palestinian militants over three and a half weeks of war. The vote came two days after the Pentagon announced ammunition deliveries to the Jewish state and as a planned 72-hour cease-fire between Israel and Hamas unraveled almost as quickly as it began.
Throughout its history, the U.S. has provided more than $700 million to help Israel cover costs for batteries, interceptors, production costs and maintenance, the Congressional Research Service said. The total already appeared set to climb above $1 billion after Senate appropriators doubled the Obama administration's request for Iron Dome funding for fiscal 2015. Now it seems likely to rise even further, with President Barack Obama expected to sign any bill swiftly into law.
On Wednesday, a Pentagon official told CBS News senior national security correspondent David Martin that Israel had requested ammunition supplies from the U.S. on July 20 under the normal Foreign Military Sales program - just like any other country that buys U.S. weapons systems. It was not an emergency request.
The State Department approved it and turned it over to the Pentagon to fill. The Pentagon decided to use some aging ammunition - 120 mm mortar rounds and 40 mm grenade rounds -- from its emergency War Reserve Stocks in Israel to fill part of the request because it was time to rotate that ammo out of the stockpile. The rest of the Israeli request is still being filled through the normal FMS system which takes a long time to deliver.
Image link: Doctors evacuate patients after Israel bombs hospital
The US taxpayer:
Keeping Israel safe from the consequences of its genocidal policies since 1948
Image link: Gaza Mosques, Sports Complex, Fishing Boats Bombed by Israel
