The Pentagon confirmed to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that it is proposing $1.7 billion in military aid to Israel for fiscal year 1983. This amount, if approved by the Administration, will be part of the fiscal 1983 foreign assistance bill to be submitted to Congress for approval. It is $300 million more than the military aid approved for fiscal 1982.
According to Pentagon sources, the sum was decided on before Israel annexed the Golan Heights on December 14, precipitating an angry confrontation with the Reagan Administration. Defense Department officials were quoted as saying that the $300 million boost is a “level of credit rather than an appropriation” and” not a great amount considering the size of the forces the Israelis must maintain in the cruel inflation suffered by Israel.” Israel reportedly had asked for $1.9 billion in military aid for fiscal 1983.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
