US Slashes Humanitarian Aid to Palestinians, Boosts Military Aid to Israel by $1 Billion

U.S. has promised to boost military aid to the country by at least $1 billion a year to a total of over $4 billion. The announcement comes on the heels of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both of whom are condemning the Palestinian response to Israeli attacks. In the meantime, the Obama administration has cut humanitarian aid to the Palestinian Authority by $80 million, reducing their annual aid package to $290 million.

According to Haaretz, the U.S. recently pledged an additional $1 billion in aid for Israeli “self-defense,” on top of the $3.1 billion annual aid package Israel already receives from the U.S. Earlier this year, months before the recent violence in Israel and Palestine, the Pentagon proposed sending up to $1.9 billion in arms to the Israeli government, which would include 750 bunker buster bombs, 3,000 hellfire missiles, 250 mid-range air-to-air missiles, and 4,100 glide bombs, according to the Times of Israel.

The agreement would also allow the Israelis to purchase other military equipment and supplies including fuel, F-35 aircrafts and V-22 tilt-rotor aircrafts.