Israel Seeking U.S. Aid for Anti-Tunnel System

YERUSHALAYIM

A day after Israel announced that it had uncovered and neutralized a Hamas terror tunnel at the Gaza border, Defense News quoted a senior Ministry of Defense official saying that they are asking the U.S. to finance a multi-layer detection system to counter the tunnels.

The multi-year package was approved by the U.S. Congress last December

The Israeli source said the Ministry of Defense has invested over $60 million over the past five years in developing anti-tunnel technologies, and hopes to receive at least double that amount in the next two years.

Last December, the U.S. Congress allocated $40 million for joint Israeli-U.S. development of technology for detecting and destroying tunnels. Israel hopes to receive $40 million in both the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years.

Israeli intelligence estimates that Hamas is spending $3 million on each tunnel it digs, despite the economic crisis and constant calls for international aid in the Gaza Strip.

IDF spokesman and Foreign Press Branch head Peter Lerner said, “The ugly truth is that Hamas continues to invest millions of dollars to build tunnels of terror and death. The tunnel uncovered in Israel demonstrates once more Hamas’s warped priorities and continued commitment and investment in tools and violence.”

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