US plans large military support for Israel in FY 2019 budget request
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E-mail Xinhua, February 13, 2018
U.S. State Department announced to provide a considerate amount of US$3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing to Israel in its Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget proposal.
U.S. President Donald Trump has requested US$39.3 billion for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) budget in the FY 2019.
According to a fact sheet offered by the State Department on Monday, that agency will allocate US$3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing for Israel.
"The Administration is also prioritizing funding for a U.S. Embassy facility in Jerusalem which will begin once design and construction plans are finalized," according to the document.
The United State will also provide US$1.3 billion in economic and security assistance to Jordan, and US$5.7 billion in defeating the Islamic State and violent extremist organizations in the Middle East and North Africa.
Besides, US$1.1 billion will go to support efforts to reduce illegal immigration from Latin America.
The budget request supports Trump's "America First" vision with a commitment to four key national priorities, namely, protecting the U.S. security at home and abroad, renewing its competitive advantage for sustained economic growth and job creation, promoting its leadership through balanced engagement and ensuring effectiveness and accountability to the U.S. taxpayer.
In response to the budget proposal, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is now in a visit to Egypt, said in an announcement that the budget request upholds the national security strategy that Trump announced in December.
The Trump administration in December, 2017 announced to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, saying it plans to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to the city that the Palestinians also claimed as its capital.
Trump's decision has sparked global condemnation. In response, Washington suspended its funding for the Palestinian refugees in a bid to force Palestinians to accept the U.S.-deliberated peace plan in Middle East, which was rejected by the Palestinian side.
It has rebuffed Washington's qualification for further mediating the Palestine-Israel peace negotiation, questioning the latter's objectivity in the process.
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