Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is headed to Washington DC on Monday, with plans for him and his US counterpart Leon Panetta to officially announce $680 million in additional US military aid to Israel.

 

The Pentagon initially cooked up this most recent plan to increase aid to Israel, pushing for the House Armed Services Committee to authorize the funding for the “Iron Dome” missile defense program in late March. The committee quickly did so.

Officials pushed for the new funding to increase the number of such defensive missiles along the border with the Gaza Strip, after Israel’s March bombardment of the strip and subsequent return-fire ended with a “malfunction” and rockets causing minor damage.