How much aid to israel

On Tuesday evening, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he would bring a bill to the House floor later this week that would fully fund the missile-defense system, and he expected it to pass. Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman, one of the Democrats who had concerns about the provision, said earlier that House members had not been given enough time to consider the matter.

Congressional Research Service report last year. The funding reflects perennially strong support for aid to Israel among both Democrats and Republicans. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement that the removal of the funding was "a technical postponement" and he had been assured by U.

Democratic leaders that funds for Iron Dome would be transferred soon. One Arrow II battery is designed to protect large swaths of Israeli territory. In March , media sources reported the first known use of the Arrow II, when they said that it successfully intercepted a Syrian surface-to-air missile SAM that had been fired on an Israeli jet returning to Israel from an operation inside Syria. Table 3. The total U. The system became operational in in Israel and has been tested successfully.

Since , Israel and the United States have conducted a joint biennial ballistic missile defense exercise, called Juniper Cobra, to work on integrating their weapons, radars, and other systems.

Citing a potential nuclear threat from Iran, Israel has sought a missile interceptor that operates at a higher altitude and greater range than the original Arrow systems. In October , the United States and Israel agreed to establish a committee to evaluate Israel's proposed "Arrow III," an upper-tier system designed to intercept medium-range ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere. Table 4. Defense Budget Appropriations for U. These funds were not appropriated by Congress but reprogrammed by the Obama Administration from other Department of Defense accounts.

In the early s, Israeli leaders sought to expand what they called their "strategic collaboration" with the U. Section of the Foreign Assistance Act of 22 U. Congress limits the value of assets transferred into War Reserves Stock Allies WRSA stockpiles located in foreign countries in any fiscal year through authorizing legislation see below.

The U. The United States stores missiles, armored vehicles, and artillery ammunition in Israel. The process is streamlined: No day congressional notification is required, and there's no waiting on delivery. Section b 4 of P. According to DSCA, "It should be understood that no new procurements are involved in establishing and maintaining these stockpiles.

Rather, the defense articles used to establish a stockpile and the annual authorized additions represent defense articles that are already within the stocks of the U. The stockpile authorizing legislation simply identifies a level of value for which a stockpile may be established or increased. Since , Israel has requested that the United States military increase its own stockpile of precision-guided munitions PGMs stored in Israel for possible Israeli emergency use against Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist groups.

If such an assessment is completed, Section requires that the Administration share its assessment with Congress. The following legislation authorized increases in value to the stockpile:. In , the Israeli and U. Reportedly, this technology uses acoustic or seismic sensors and software to detect the sounds of digging by monitoring vibrations underground. This authorization allowed funds from the research, development, test, and evaluation defense-wide account to be used in combination with Israeli funds to establish anti-tunnel capabilities that detect, map, and neutralize underground tunnels that threaten the United States or Israel.

The authorization requires the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress on, among other things, the sharing of research and development costs between the United States and Israel. The FY NDAA expanded the scope of the anti-tunnel cooperation program to address the threat posed by the proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles in the hands of foreign terrorist organizations and other non-state actors.

Table 5. Some U. The Foreign Assistance Act of , as amended, also contains general provisions on the use of U. In the late s and early to mids, the Carter and Reagan Administrations questioned Israel's use of U. After Israel's war in Lebanon, the State Department issued a preliminary report to Congress concluding that Israel may have violated the terms of agreements with the United States that restrict Israel's use of U.

Section M of the Foreign Assistance Act of FAA , as amended, prohibits the furnishing of assistance authorized by the FAA and the AECA to any foreign security force unit where there is credible information that the unit has committed a gross violation of human rights.

The State Department and U. This bill was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and it did not see further committee or floor action. Gross violations of internationally recognized human rights are currently defined in Section B d 1 of the FAA 22 U. State Department currently issues annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices that regularly reference non-government sources. In February , Senator Leahy and 10 other Members of Congress sent a letter to then-Secretary of State John Kerry asking the State Department to determine whether alleged extrajudicial killings or torture by Israeli military and police and Egypt separately should trigger Leahy law restrictions.

In some instances, U. For example, U. State Department-provided Migration and Refugee MRA assistance see below , per agreement between the State Department and United Israel Appeal, may only be used for absorption centers, ulpanim intensive Hebrew-language schools with particular focus on immigrants to Israel , or youth aliyah relocation to Israel institutions located within Israel's pre-June area of control. Although as previously mentioned, Israel is a major global manufacturer of armaments, it also possesses significant quantities of major U.

At times, third parties have sought to procure U. TPT approval. In December , the Trump Administration notified Congress that it had approved the sale, but only if all Israeli modifications were removed beforehand. Reportedly, Croatia did not want the Fs returned to their original condition, and the deal was cancelled despite high level negotiations between Israeli and U. Amidst ongoing global U. In addition, the United States and Israel signed a bilateral agreement, known as the "Declaration of Understanding on Technology Exports," whereby both countries pledged to ensure defense export transparency, with the United States pledging not to ban Israel's defense deals on commercial grounds to ensure Israeli competitiveness globally.

Though Israeli-Chinese defense ties have ended, there is still some concern that Israeli technology transfer in the commercial sphere will be used by China to compete with the United States and potentially threaten its national security in various fields, such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and robotics.

Chinese investment in Israel also has raised some concern within the Administration and Congress. Section of S. Both Haifa and Ashdod host Israeli naval bases. Due to the Chinese contract for Haifa, the U. Navy is reportedly reconsidering its practice of periodically docking at the base there. Funds are paid to the United Israel Appeal, a private philanthropic organization in the United States, which in turn transfers the funds to the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Table 6. Congress has changed the earmark language since the first refugee resettlement funds were appropriated in At first, the congressional language said the funds were for "resettlement in Israel of refugees from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and from Communist countries in Eastern Europe. Technically, the legislative language designates funds for refugee resettlement, but in Israel little differentiation is made between Jewish "refugees" and other Jewish immigrants, and the funds are used to support the absorption of all immigrants.

Since , the United States has extended loan guarantees to Israel to assist with housing shortages, Israel's absorption of new immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia, and its economic recovery following the recession, which was probably caused in part by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict known as the second intifada. Loan guarantees are a form of indirect U. Congress directs that subsidies be set aside in a U. Treasury account in case of a possible Israeli default.

These subsidies, which are a percentage of the total loan based in part on the credit rating of the borrowing country , have come from the U. Israel has never defaulted on a U.

Since then, Israel has not borrowed any funds. According to the U. Department of the Treasury, Israel is legally obligated to use the proceeds of guaranteed loans for refinancing its government debt and also has agreed that proceeds shall not be used for military purposes or to support activities in areas outside its pre-June 5, , areas of control the West Bank—including East Jerusalem—, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights.

However, U. However, if the Israeli government sought to issue new U. Since the original loan guarantee program authorization for Israel in , Congress has extended the program four times. In general, Israel may view U. According to one Israeli official in , "We consider the loan guarantees as preparation for a rainy day This is a safety net for war, natural disaster and economic crisis, which allows Israel to maintain economic stability in unstable surroundings. Table 7. Table 8.

In the early s, Israeli academics and businessmen began looking for ways to expand investment in Israel's nascent technology sector. The sector, which would later become the driving force in the country's economy, was in need of private capital for research and development at the time. The United States and Israel launched several programs to stimulate Israeli industrial and scientific research, and Congress has on several occasions authorized and appropriated funds for this purpose to the following organizations:.

Since , Congress has repeatedly authorized and appropriated funds for the creation of new U. They include the following:.

Department of Energy and the Israeli Ministry of Energy designed to further research in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Congress authorized the creation of the program in Section of P. The law also authorized the Secretary of Energy to provide funds for the grant program as needed. Congress authorized the program for seven years from the time of enactment, which was on December 19, Then, in December , the President signed into law P. Department of Energy and the Israeli Energy Ministry agreed to establish a new program known as the U.

The issue of what constitutes legitimate criticism of U. For many years, U. Consequently, Israel and the United States agreed to gradually phase out economic grant aid to Israel. It had been a large-scale recipient of grant ESF assistance since In assessing the balance of power in Europe, U. Gribble, Jr. The concept was subsequently applied to Israel in relation to its Arab adversaries. In , then-U. Secretary of State Alexander Haig testified before Congress, saying, "A central aspect of US policy since the October war has been to ensure that Israel maintains a qualitative military edge.

William Wunderle and Andre Briere, U. Upon signing P. Consistent with longstanding constitutional practice, my administration will interpret and implement these sections in a manner that does not interfere with my constitutional authority to conduct diplomacy and to protect the confidentiality of diplomatic communications.

Ocasio-Cortez is part of a growing minority in Congress raising questions about whether American taxpayer money is being used to exacerbate Palestinian suffering and entrench Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.

She and others say the U. Cori Bush, a St. Louis Democrat, said in joining Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Woods said the U. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Hamas engaged a "clear violation" of international law in its targeting of Israeli citizens and suggested Israel may have also engaged in war crimes in hitting densely populated areas that resulted in high civilian casualties.

Israeli officials have accused the U. This is not the first time critics have questioned the possible misuse of U. Earlier instances involved the sale of bulldozers and other equipment that may have been used to destroy Palestinians' homes, according to the CRS report. Biden recently vowed to help Israel replenish its Iron Dome missile defense system, noting it "has saved the lives of countless Israeli citizens, both Arab and Jew. But Biden's pledge means the White House may request additional funding from Congress for interceptors that were used in the recent conflict.

Blinken said he won congressional approval for the money just three days after Israel's ambassador called him late one evening at the White House. In general, the administration must notify Congress before concluding major foreign military sales. The White House can proceed with the sale — unless Congress passes legislation prohibiting or modifying the proposed deal. During the Trump administration, lawmakers tried to block a weapons sale to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

But President Donald Trump vetoed the measures, saying they would "weaken America's global competitiveness and damage the important relationships we share with our allies and partners.