‘Israel’ to request $1bn in additional American aid, says US senator

‘Israel’ will ask for an additional $1bn in American aid to replenish its rocket defence system after the recent aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz will take off Wednesday for a snap trip to Washington for talks with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin and US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan, his office announced on Tuesday.

Gantz during the visit will submit a billion-dollar request to the Pentagon to replenish the rocket defence system, as US Senator Lindsey Graham revealed at a Tuesday press conference.

Speaking to Fox News from ‘Israel’, Graham, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, held a sign that read “more for Israel”, calling on Congress and the Biden administration to approve the Israeli request for more funding.

“There is going to be a request made by the Israelis to the Pentagon on Thursday for $1 billion in aid to replenish Iron Dome batteries. It will be a good investment for the American people. I will make sure in the Senate that they get the money,” Graham told Fox.

“Iron Dome performed incredibly well, saving thousands of Israeli lives and tens of thousands of Palestinian lives,” Graham said.

“I would imagine that the administration would say yes to this request and it will sail through Congress.”

The United States provides $3.8bn in military aid to ‘Israel’ annually.

“Every time somebody tries to destroy Israel, our response is going to be more aid,” Graham stated.

On Tuesday, Graham pledged to lead efforts to secure the additional aid in Congress after the Pentagon officially receives the request in the coming days.

The senator met with top Israeli officials this week, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose office lauded the Republican lawmaker as a “tremendous friend and ally”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, with US Senator @LindseyGrahamSC.https://t.co/aB73kVoizS pic.twitter.com/DPrdCyPeU9

— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) May 31, 2021

Amid reports that Netanyahu’s political rivals are on the cusp of forming a coalition government that would remove him from power, Graham said Washington’s relationship with ‘Israel’ will not be affected by Israeli politics.

“The government may change in the next couple of days, quite frankly. But one thing [that] won’t change is the relationship between Israel and the United States,” Graham said on Tuesday.

“There’s been no better friend to the United States than Israel, and Bibi has been one of the strongest leaders in the world for the last 15 years.”

Recently, several congressional Democrats have urged to block a recently announced sale of precision-guided munitions to ‘Israel’.

A group of Democratic Party lawmakers led by Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez introduced a resolution calling to block the $735m arms deal, following Israel’s aggression on Gaza, in which at least 279 Palestinians were killed, including 69 children and 40 women, and 1,910 others injured.

“At a time when so many, including our President, support a ceasefire, we should not be sending ‘direct attack’ weaponry to Prime Minister Netanyahu to prolong this violence. It is long past time to end the US policy of unconditional military arms sales, particularly to governments that have violated human rights,” read an email from Ocasio-Cortez’s office, calling on her congressional colleagues to support her bill.

In a press release about the resolution, Ocasio-Cortez added, “For decades, the US has sold billions of dollars in weaponry to Israel without ever requiring them to respect basic Palestinian rights. In so doing, we have directly contributed to the death, displacement and disenfranchisement of millions.”

“The United States should not be rubber-stamping weapons sales to the Israeli government as they deploy our resources to target international media outlets, schools, hospitals, humanitarian missions and civilian sites for bombing,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Wednesday.

“We have a responsibility to protect human rights.”