Israel thanks US for ‘record-breaking’ missile defence aid

JERUSALEM – Israel’s defence minister has thanked the United States for including a “record-breaking” $705 million to aid the country’s missile defence in the spending bill passed last week.

Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that the aid will be used for the development of Israel’s multi-layered system, which is designed to shoot down short-range rockets from Gaza and Lebanon and counter long-range threats like that posed by Iran.

The U.S. provides $3.1 billion in military aid to Israel each year under a 10-year security arrangement. The $705 million is a separate allocation, and is up from the $600 million provided for missile defence last year.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill on Friday that provides billions in new funding for the military and national security.