More than four-fifths of the US Senators signed a letter pressuring American President Barack Obama to boost military aid to Israel, Reuters reported Monday.
Out of 100 Senators, 83 signed a letter, including 51 (94 percent) of the 54 Republicans and 32 (73 percent) of the 44 Democrats.
The US gives more than $3 billion in unconditional military aid to Israel every single year; more than any other country recipient to American aids.
In fact, more than half of US foreign military financing goes to Israel, a country roughly the size of New Jersey.
The vast majority of the Senate, however, thinks $3.1 billion per year is not enough.
The bipartisan initiative was led by Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Chris Coons. Their letter calls on Obama to quickly reach an agreement on a military aid package for Israel.
The letter does not specify by how much exactly US military aid should be increased. The Israeli government wants $4 billion to $4.5 billion, yet some US officials have proposed $3.7 billion.
According to the UN, the Israeli military killed more than 2,250 Palestinians, roughly two-thirds of whom were civilians, including at least 550 children, in its 51-day attack on the densely populated Gaza Strip, bombing civilian homes, hospitals, schools, places of worship and shelters for displaced people.
The senators’ letter, which was obtained by Reuters, asserts “we stand ready to support a substantially enhanced new long-term agreement to help provide Israel the resources it requires to defend itself and preserve its qualitative military edge.”
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