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| Israeli finance minister wants to stop production of Merkava tanks: newspaper
JERUSALEM, Aug 31 (AFP) - Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested pulling the plug on the production of the crack battle tank Merkava in a series of cuts in government spending, the Haaretz daily reported Sunday. Netanyahu wants to reduce the defence ministry budget ahead of submitting to parliament a draft 2004 budget expected to include new cuts in social spending, particularly health and education, the paper said. Serious & personalized business, investment and technology intelligence for a serious advantage - BizVantage! One move would be to stop production of the Merkava tank, which Netanyahu believes is no longer necessary since the Iraq war and the fall of Saddam Hussein in the light of a re-evaluation of Israel's strategic situation, the daily said. Netanyahu believes that the risk of a war involving Israeli tanks has faded and that Israel should now buy its tanks in the United States using the 1.8 billion dollars in military aid it gets annually from Washington, Haaretz said. The Israeli army has some 4,000 tanks including 1,280 Merkavas, according to the Tel Aviv University Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies. chw/hkb/jm Mideast-Israel-army
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