Clinton drops objections to Israeli military aid request

TEL AVIV — The Clinton administration has aceded to Israel's request for a special allocation to help modernize its military.

The Israeli Haaretz daily reported on Wednesday that the administration is expected to ask up to $800 million for fiscal 2001 in a special allocation that will compensate Israel for the withdrawal from Lebanon as well as help fund the modernization of Israel's military.

The newspaper said the administration has dropped objections to the Israeli request and appears ready to approve the entire amount proposed by Jerusalem. Earlier, Israeli officials said the administration was only willing to fund $150 million of the $800 million Israeli request.

The administration request is expected to be submitted within the next three days. Congress is scheduled to recess on Friday.

Israel is expected to receive $1.98 billion in fiscal 2001 as part of its annual military aid.

The Israeli request would fund half of the costs of Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon as well as half of an Arrow missile upgrade program required for the interception of more advanced missiles introduced in the Middle East -- such as Iran's Shihab-3.

Prime Minister Ehud Barak has urged President Bill Clinton to upgrade the strategic relationship between Israel and the United States. Next week, Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami flies to Washington for talks on this subject with U.S. National Security Adviser Samuel Berger.