Bin Aleazer asks for USD 800 million from Rumsfeld

A statement by the Israeli ministry of defense said that Israel has asked additional USD 800 million of American military aid " to counter the strategic threats on the long run." And this was according to a former pledge vowed by Washington to support Israel after its withdrawal from South Lebanon.

The Israeli war minister Benjamin Bin Aleazer asked his US counterpart Donald Rumsfeld in a telephone call " for a special financial support of USD 800 million," and he added that Rumsfeld replied that " the US administration will study this Israeli request."

A spokesman for the US state department said that the request to increase the aid was raised under the former US administration of President Bill Clinton who agreed to the sum, in principle at the initiative of the former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak.