US pledges $5.2bln of taxpayer money to develop Israeli air defenses

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
21 Oct 2024 18:13
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Israeli occupation forces will receive a total of $8.7 billion US military aid package, as the the regime continues to violate both international and US laws.

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A missile launcher from an Israeli Iron Dome battery sits in occupied Aaskalan to the north of the Gaza Strip, in occupied Palestine, on August 7, 2022. (AP)

The United States will work on providing the Israeli regime with a special emergency aid package of $5.2 billion, aimed at augmenting Israeli air defense systems, Israeli media reported on Monday.

The Director General of the Israeli Security Ministry, Major General (Res.) Eyal Zamir, and Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, William LaPlante, engaged in an exchange of letters to implement the emergency aid package.

According to Israeli media, the funds will be allocated to developing, enhancing, and expanding the Iron Dome, David Sling, and Iron Beam systems.

The $5.2 billion will be part of the broader package approved by the US administration and Congress of $8.7 billion. The remaining $3.5 billion will be allocated to the Israeli Procurement Mission in the US, which will use the vast funds to make purchases on behalf of Israeli occupation forces.

US rushes to patch up Israeli air defense systems

The Israeli regime has one of the world's densest networks of air defense systems, a significant portion of which has been financed by the US.

Moreover, the US has recently deployed a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Israeli-occupied territories, aimed at further bolstering Israeli air defense capabilities. This comes after the embarrassing performance of Israeli air defenses against Iran's ballistic missile strike, which was conducted on October 1, 2024.

Moreover, Israeli air defenses have struggled against low-budget one-way attack drones launched by the Axis of Resistance. Most recently, a swarm of drones penetrated Israeli-occupied territories, traveling a 70-kilometer distance from the Palestinian-Lebanese border.

One of the drones was seen flying right past an Israeli Apache attack helicopter, before impacting the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Caesarea.