White House against increasing aid to Israel

The White House announced on Tuesday that it opposes the addition of $455 million to the budget to finance Israel’s anti-missile defense, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

 

The announcement came following a decision by Congress to increase the aid to Israel, and in light of the disagreements between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government on the new defense aid agreement.

 

In a “Statement of Administration Policy” released by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget and quoted by Jewish Insider, the administration said it “opposes the addition of $455 million above the FY 2017 Budget request for Israeli missile defense procurement and cooperative development programs.”

 

Last month, the Senate Appropriations Committee recommended $600 million in funding for fiscal year 2017, an increase of $113 million from last year and $454 million over President Obama’s request, noted Jewish Insider.

 

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) responded to the statement by saying it was “deeply disappointed” that the increased funding has been objected by the administration.

 

“On a bipartisan basis, Congress has increased funding above administration requests this year, as it has done for well over a decade,” AIPAC said, according to the Jewish Insider.

 

Read More: White House against increasing aid to Israel – Defense/Security – News – Arutz Sheva