JERUSALEM: Israel will ask the United States for $2.2 billion, one of the largest aid requests by the Jewish state, to pay for its planned withdrawal from the occupied Gaza Strip, Israeli political sources said on Monday. The special funding would be used to pay for the pullout from Gaza and a corner of the West Bank slated to begin in the middle of next month, and for the relocation of some 9,000 evacuated Jewish settlers to underpopulated areas of Israel.

Israel is among the largest recipients of US aid, and the $2.2 billion would be in addition to annual aid of around $2.8 billion. Much of the annual funding comes in the form of grants that are spent on US military exports.

A senior Israeli political source said the US aid request was the biggest in recent years, “which is hardly surprising given the unprecedented scale of the Disengagement Plan”.

Israel’s Haaretz daily said the request would be made by aides to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in talks with US National Security Council official Elliot Abrams.—Reuters