Israel to ask US for $2.2b in aid
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-11 16:48

Israel plans to ask the United States for $2.2 billion in additional aid to help fund its upcoming withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank, deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said Monday.

Speaking to reporters at the start of a meeting with U.S. Mideast envoy James Wolfensohn and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Peres said some of the money would be used for the physical removal of settlers and their belongings, while the rest would go for developing the Galilee and Negev desert regions for resettlement.