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U.S. to restore Israeli defense ties with Gates visit

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, April 16, 2007

WASHINGTON — The United States has agreed to improve defense relations with Israel.

Officials said the Bush administration plans to send Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Israel this week. Gates was scheduled to arrive in the Jewish state on April 17 for meetings on strategic issues with his counterpart, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

The Gates visit was said to have signaled the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Israel in wake of an unmanned aerial vehicle upgrade project for China in 2004.

This would be the first time since 1999 that a U.S. defense secretary visited Israel. Gates's predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, toured the Middle East several times, but never entered Israel. In June 2006, Rumsfeld was meant to visit Israel, but this was canceled at the last minute, Middle East Newsline reported.

The Pentagon, angered that Israel tried to conceal the project, severed high-level ties, blocked sensitive exports and denied Israel access to the Joint Strike Fighter program. Israel was not believed to have completed the Harpy UAV upgrade for Beijing.

In September 2005, Israel and the United States agreed to consult on proposed arms exports by the Jewish state. Israel also pledged to make its export approval process transparent, legislation that has not yet been approved by the Knesset.

Officials said Gates was expected to discuss a proposed U.S. arms sale to Saudi Arabia. They said Peretz and other senior Israeli officials have warned that Saudi requests for advanced F-15 and F-16 fighter-jets as well as air-to-ground weaponry could erode Israel's qualitative military edge over its Arab neighbors. Congress has also expressed concern over the proposed Saudi deal.

"We expect there will be sweeteners to overcome Israeli objections [to the Saudi deal]," an official said. "There are quite a few things in the pipeline that have been held up."

The official did not elaborate. But defense sources cited Israel's requests for advanced airborne weapons and technology, approval for Israeli subsystems on the F-35, and an expanded intelligence exchange on threats in the Middle East.


Copyright © 2007 East West Services, Inc.

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