Israel seeking nearly $3 billion in fuel from US

Department of Defense says ‘it is vital to US national interests’ to help Israel maintain ‘a strong and ready self-defense capability’

Israel intends to pursue a massive multibillion-dollar deal for military fuel from US suppliers, according to a Wednesday US Department of Defense press release.

“The Government of Israel has requested a possible sale of 864,000,000 gallons of petroleum based products consisting of JP-8 aviation fuel, diesel fuel and unleaded gasoline… The estimated cost is $2.67 billion,” the press release said.

Notice of the potential sale was given to Congress earlier this week, as required by US law, the Department of Defense noted, adding that “it is vital to US national interests” to help Israel maintain “a strong and ready self-defense capability” but that “the proposed sale… will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”

The US provides some $3.1 billion in annual military aid to Israel, a large chunk of which must be used to purchase arms and supplies from the US government and vendors based in the US.

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