WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Obama signed a defense appropriations bill that includes $202 million in defense cooperation with Israel.
The money in the bill signed over the weekend is considered separately from Israel’s defense assistance package, which was in the foreign operations bill also signed in recent days, because it is not purely assistance; it is considered an investment in systems used by U.S. troops and that are profitable for the American companies involved.
The defense cooperation includes $50 million for further development of the Arrow anti-missile system.
The foreign operations bill brings defense assistance to Israel up to $2.775 billion, which is commensurate with the 2007-2017 plan launched by President Bush to funnel $30 billion to Israel.
