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| By: Israel Insider staff and partners |
| Published: July 17, 2005 |
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Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz postponed a visit to Washington intended to reach agreement on future Israeli arms sales to China and other countries.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz was to fly to the United States on Saturday, but according to defense officials, postponed the trip due to a surge in regional violence.
He will likely travel later this week due to escalating Gaza Strip violence and a suicide attack last week in the coastal city of Netanya that killed five Israelis, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
The travel delay was unrelated to long-standing tensions between Israel and the U.S. over the wording of a memorandum of understanding intended to govern Israeli arms deals, the officials added.
Mofaz is widely expected to wrap up the deal with Washington during the upcoming visit, although cautious Israeli defense officials said that while "the minister is supposed to sign, it wasn't definite before and it's not definite now. The issue is not 100 percent closed."
Israel and the Pentagon have been negotiating the deal amid tensions over Israel's planned sale to China of spare parts for the Harpy armed drone aircraft. The Bush administration objects on grounds it would upgrade China's anti-radar aircraft.
The AP contributed to this report. |
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