The U.S. House on Thursday approved a bill to provide funding for replenishing missiles for Israel’s Iron Dome after it was removed from a separate bill to prevent a government shutdown and suspend the nation’s borrowing limit, according to a report by CNN.
The $1 billion in funding allocated for the anti-air defense system had initially been included in the must-pass legislation that the House considered earlier in the week, but the provision was removed from the final version to appease a group of progressives who said they would sink the legislation unless that funding was struck from it.
The bill now goes to the Senate where it’s unclear when it will get a vote.
Co-developed by U.S. and Israel, the U.S. had provided $1.6 billion to Israel for Iron Dome batteries, interceptors and general maintenance, according to Congressional Research Service.
The Iron Dome targets incoming rockets and fires interceptor missiles to destroy them in the air within seconds of them being launched.
Each battery has a firing-control radar to identify targets and a portable missile launcher.
The Iron Dome Aerial Defense System is designed to intercept rockets midair — by targeting them and firing interceptor missiles to destroy them — before they can kill civilians living in Israel. It was initially developed by Israel’s defense company Rafael Advanced Systems and Israeli Aerospace Industries, but the system has since been heavily sponsored by the United States.
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