Israel approved a plan late Sunday to strengthen its air forces with billions of dollars in US warplanes and advanced military equipment.
State-owned KAN TV reported the decision was made with three years of delay following a seven-hour-long Cabinet meeting, which was attended by Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
#Israel approves huge deal to buy #US military equipment https://t.co/orZZy4ts8X pic.twitter.com/Cq7QVzZqbN
— ANADOLU AGENCY (ENG) (@anadoluagency) February 8, 2021
The $9 billion deal includes the procurement of Chinook helicopters, F-35 and F-16 warplanes, bombs, advanced arms and aerial refueling tankers, it said.
Support for apartheid Israel and settler-colonialism in Palestine is totally bipartisan in US politics.
The Senate just voted 97 to 3 to keep recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, violating international law.
Imperialism always brings them togetherhttps://t.co/KRMn0vkCmF— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) February 5, 2021
The Finance Ministry opposed the deal as Tel Aviv would need to take loans from US banks to finance the plan and it would mean a reduction in annual support from Washington, according to KAN TV.
The Israel Defense Forces announced the start of a joint Juniper Falcon exercise with the US military. pic.twitter.com/k357hYq1E9
— Asia.India-Defense (@Xia257) February 5, 2021
The US, which is the largest military supporter of Israel, announced in 2018 that it would provide $38 billion military aid in 10 years to Tel Aviv.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
