Israel’s public security minister, Uzi Landau, told American officials in July that more funds were needed to replenish the supply of robots that dismantle bombs in Israel. The robots often are damaged while dissecting bombs and cannot be reused.
Israel already has spent the $100 million in counterterrorism aid it receives from the United States each year under the 1998 Wye Agreement. The new money is part of the supplemental funds designated for counterterrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
This money is separate from the annual foreign operations appropriations package that passed Congress last month. That earmarked $2.7 billion in economic and military aid for Israel.
It also is separate from the $800 million supplemental aid package Israel still is asking from the United States. That money, originally sought by President Clinton and Israel from the last Congress, was to help Israel with the costs associated with withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000.