U.S. to Supply Israel With Helicopters : Defense: The aircraft, other equipment will be kept in that nation under new agreement, Bush says.

WASHINGTON — President Bush announced Saturday that the United States will supply Israel with Apache and Black Hawk helicopters and other American defense equipment that can be kept permanently on Israeli territory as part of a new agreement on military cooperation between the two nations.

The new military equipment is meant to demonstrate the Administration’s continuing support for Israel following the President’s recent decision to sell F-15 warplanes to Saudi Arabia. Saturday’s announcement seemed to be timed to smooth the way on Capitol Hill for the Saudi arms sale, which will take effect unless both houses of Congress vote to disapprove it before they adjourn next week.

White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said in a written statement that the new American supplies “will effectively maintain Israel’s qualitative edge.” The statement was issued in Arlington, Ohio, as Bush was beginning a two-day campaign trip by rail through Ohio and Michigan.

There were hints in the White House statement that the new U.S.-Israeli military agreement may be broader than the specific weapons sales announced Saturday.

“President Bush and (Israeli) Prime Minister (Yitzhak) Rabin have reached agreement on certain measures that will be initiated by the United States in the very near future,” the White House said. “These measures include the supply of Apache and Black Hawk helicopters and the pre-positioning of advanced defense equipment in Israel.”

Fitzwater said the American and Israeli leaders had agreed to bring about “closer ties between the two countries’ armed forces (and) cooperation on technology upgrades.” In addition, he said, the two countries will start discussions on Israel’s participation in the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which is now known formally as the “global protection system.”

The White House did not say how many helicopters the United States is supplying to Israel or what the dollar value will be.

The Jerusalem Post reported earlier this month that Israel and the United States were working on a far-ranging review of their military and strategic relationship to offset the Bush Administration’s plan to sell 72 advanced F-15 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.

According to the newspaper, Israel sent David Ivri, director-general of the Israeli Defense Ministry, to Washington for talks with senior Pentagon officials and with acting Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger.

The talks reportedly required the involvement of Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, White House Chief of Staff James A. Baker III and Israeli Ambassador Zalman Shoval, as well as Bush and Rabin.

Earlier this month, Bush made a brief reference linking Israel to the SDI (“Star Wars”) system, in a way that some critics later charged was aimed at helping to shore up congressional support for the space-based defense system.

“You ought to take a good, close look at anyone who claims to be a friend of Israel, at anyone who claims to be serious about Israel’s security, but opposes development of defenses, like the global protection system, that may be the most effective way for Israel to defend itself against missile attack,” the President said in a speech to B’nai B’rith.

An Administration official acknowledged Saturday that the military cooperation agreement with Israel was “basically” linked to the Saudi arms sale and was negotiated in an effort to reassure Israelis that they will maintain a military edge over their Arab neighbors.

The helicopters the United States is providing will not be newly produced but will come from existing American supplies.

Apaches are a modern helicopter used for scout and attack operations during the Persian Gulf War. Black Hawks are general-purpose helicopters now used by the United States in part for strikes against drug traffickers in Central America.

White House officials pointed out that in 1991, during the Gulf crisis, Congress authorized the transfer of up to $700 million in military supplies to Israel. The other defense equipment to be placed in Israel is valued at $200 million and will come from a separate 1991 congressional allocation that has, until now, not been implemented.

The actual transfer of the helicopters will take place within the next year, White House officials said.

Mann reported from Washington and Jehl from Ohio.