ISRAEL AND US HAGGLING OVER TERMS OF MILITARY AID. With President Bush into the last 2 years of his final term in office, Israel is especially get this nailed down.

A senior Israeli official said the sides were not ready to wrap up the negotiations because the Bush administration, faced with a yawning budget deficit, wanted to increase the aid -- now $2.4 billion a year -- incrementally.

Israel, which has been scrambling to build up its military since last year's Lebanon war and ahead of any showdown with arch-foe Iran, has asked to receive a chunk of the $30 billion up front, or for the money to be spread evenly over 10 years.

Of course, if Israel is really desperate, they can always go to Palestinian Finance Minister Fayyad:

A well-informed source in Ramallah confirmed that the new Palestinian ministry of finance in the caretaker government mistakenly transferred one year's salary to 3,500 members of Hamas' Executive Force in the Gaza Strip.

Technorati Tag: Israel.