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Israeli PM plays down dispute with U.S. over missile fund

Xinhua, June 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu downplayed on Wednesday the White House opposition to a proposal to increase funding for Israel's missile program.

The Obama administration said in a "statement of administration policy" on Tuesday that it "strongly opposes" a congressional proposal to increase funding for Israel's missile defense program in the 2017 budget by 455 million U.S. dollars.

In Israel, the announcement stirred wide criticism against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the opposition leader, Isaac Herzog, accusing him of "irresponsibly" causing a bilateral crisis that puts Israel's security at risk.

In the wake of the uproar, the Prime Minister's Office released a statement that dismissed the Administration's announcement as an "internal debate between Congress and the White House on the size of the annual supplement to the missile defense program."

"Netanyahu is working to anchor this supplement as part of the discussions on the assistance agreement for the next ten years," the statement read, adding that not only will the security assistance not be cut, "it will be increased."

The relations between President Barack Obama and Netanyahu were strained last year over the latter fierce criticism of the nuclear deal with Iran. Endit