HAS U.S. BLOCKED ARMS TO ISRAEL?

U.S. BLOCKS ARMS, TECHNOLOGY TO ISRAEL (Middle East Newsline)
TEL AVIV [MENL] — The Bush administration has blocked arms and technology transfers to Israel.

Israeli and U.S. sources said the State Department has blocked the transfer of weapons and technology to the Jewish state over the last three months. The sources said the halt reflected deteriorating relations between the two countries since the end of the war in Lebanon in August 2006.

“Nobody will say openly that there is a problem,” a government source said. “But there is a serious problem that reflects the marginalization of Israel in U.S. strategy.”

The unofficial suspension of U.S. arms deliveries began in late September, the sources said. They said the suspension halted the airlift of air-to-ground and other munitions conducted during and immediately after the Israeli war with Hizbullah.