Report: US halted transfer of aerial anti-armor missiles to Israel
The US government has halted a shipment of Hellfire aerial anti-armor missiles to Israel, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing government sources. The sources noted that Israel had requested the transfer of ammunitions directly from the Pentagon, without receiving the approval of the White House or State Department officials.
According to the sources, White House officials were concerned about Israel's use of artillery, instead of precision-guided munitions in the more densely populated areas. An Israeli official told the newspaper that the rift between Israel and the US has now deepened: "We've been there before with a lot of tension with us and Washington. What we have now, on top of that, is mistrust and a collision of different perspectives on the Middle East."
