Congress deepens US-Israel missile alliance
Congress’ annual defense bill tops Trump budget request by $500 million amid rising Iranian threat.
Congress released Nov. 9 an annual defense bill that calls for $705 million for Israel’s missile defense program, a tacit acknowledgment of the threat posed by Iran and Hezbollah.
The requested figure is included in compromise legislation between the House and Senate Armed Services committees, both of which had called for that level of funding in their respective defense bills. It represents a $558 million increase over the Donald Trump administration’s request for fiscal year 2018, including $268.5 million for research and development and $290 million for procurement of the jointly developed, three-layered missile system that protects Israel from small projectiles, artillery and ballistic missiles.
The Israeli request, which must still be allocated through separate spending legislation, is part of a $700 billion authorization for the Pentagon’s activities around the world. A Senate Armed Services Committee aide told Al-Monitor that legislators wanted to give Israel additional protection from enhanced threats from regional actors, including low-grade rockets fired by Hamas and Iranian proxies in Syria and Lebanon, and a growing ballistic missile threat from Tehran.
