Israel has asked the United States to speed up an anti-missile project between the two countries that is aimed at intercepting short-range rockets.
David Ivry, director general of Israel’s Defense Ministry, raised the subject during a visit to the U.S. State Department and Pentagon.
The Jewish state offered to invest about $20 million for the rapid development of the Nautilus project, which is in an early stage of development and has had financial difficulties, the Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported Sunday.
The project targets such rockets as the Katyushas, which the Islamic fundamentalist group Hezbollah fires routinely on northern Israel.
Recent Katyusha barrages provoked the latest Israeli offensive on Hezbollah bases in Lebanon.
Ivry’s recent trip precedes Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres’ visit at the end of the month.
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