United States military aid to Israel for fiscal year 2011 has been delayed for three months.
The more than $3 billion in military aid, one of the largest amounts ever earmarked for Israel, includes grants to upgrade the Iron Dome and Arrow anti-ballistic missile systems.
The delay is a result of the Obama’s administration’s difficulty in passing the 2011 U.S. budget, which forced the president to sign a presidential order extending the current budget through March. Until then, funding for the budget will be disbursed on a month-to-month basis.
Israel usually receives its aid in a lump sum, 30 days after the U.S. annual budget is signed by the president. Because of this year’s delay, the Israeli business daily Globes reported, Israel stands to lose millions of dollars in interest payments.
Israel received $2.4 billion in the 2010 U.S. fiscal budget. The 2011 budget is set to include, among other things, an additional $415 million to build and operate anti-missile systems, $25 million for immigrant absorption and $2 million for the U.S. Department of Energy’s energy research cooperation program, according to Globes.
The new Republican leadership in the House of Representatives includes many opponents of foreign aid.
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