The White House agreed to requests worth $500 million by Egypt, Oman and Tunisia for air defense upgrade, aircraft and naval ship support as well as helicopters.
"The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region," the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said.
The Pentagon announcements of the Arab requests, which require approval by Congress, came hours after the White House said Obama would press for the extension of Israel's freeze on Jewish construction in the West Bank and most of Jerusalem. White House aides said Obama would meet Netanyahu on July 6 amid enhanced Israeli-U.S. cooperation in intelligence, missile defense and security.
The administration has not approved an Israeli request for offensive military platforms since Obama took office in January 2009. Instead, the White House endorsed nearly $13 billion worth of Arab arms requests last year, and nearly $10 billion from Turkey.
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