Senior U.S. official to visit Israel on military aid
Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:57PM EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns will travel to Israel this week to discuss the proposed $30 billion, 10-year U.S. military aid package for the Jewish state, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.
The Bush administration announced the money for Israel as well as plans to give Egypt $13 billion in defense assistance on July 30. The Israeli package amounts to an increase of about 25 percent over previous years.
In addition, the administration is considering giving Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states as much as $20 billion in similar aid over 10 years, a U.S. official has said.
The military assistance is designed to reassure Gulf nations of the United States' commitment to the region despite its problems in Iraq, as well as to strengthen them in the face of Iran's growing influence in the region.
The United States accuses Iran of seeking nuclear weapons. Tehran has said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes to generate electricity so it can export more of its valuable oil and gas.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters Burns, the third-ranking U.S. diplomat, would travel to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Wednesday through Friday to discuss details of the aid package, which needs U.S. congressional approval.
He returns to Washington from Israel and does not plan to visit Egypt or the Gulf on this trip, McCormack added.
An Israeli official last week said there were differences between Israel and the United States about how the $30 billion should be disbursed, with Israel asking for the payments either to be front-loaded or to be spread evenly over the 10 years.
On Saturday, an Israeli official involved in the talks said the two sides had reached an agreement under which the first year's payment would be $2.55 billion, as proposed by the United States, and would then rise over time.
Senior U.S. official to visit Israel on military aid
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