The US House of Representatives Wednesday voted to approve over $200 million to help the deployment of the Iron Dome missile defense system in Israel, AFP reported.

Discussing the 212-206 vote, Democratic Representative Steve Rothman said, "This is only the latest example that when it comes to defense, military, and intelligence cooperation, the relationship between the US and Israel has never been stronger," according to the report.

"This funding sends a strong message, to both our enemies and allies, by providing more total dollars than ever before toward these rocket and missile defense programs," he added, AFP reported.

Last month, senior military sources said that after months of deliberations, the IDF had decided to store the Iron Dome anti-rocket system at an air force base in the center of the country and to deploy it only in cases of extreme rocket fire from either the Gaza Strip or southern Lebanon.

The decision was made ahead of the planned announcement that Iron Dome had reached “initial operational capability,” initially scheduled for this November.

Top IDF officers told The Jerusalem Post that the initial operational capability would be postponed until the first quarter of 2011. The delay, the officers stressed, was not due to technical malfunctions but rather to the intricate process of training IDF officers and soldiers to use the complicated weapons system.

The system passed a series of tests in July, when it successfully intercepted a number of 122 mm. Grad-type Katyusha rockets.

The IDF has already identified positions along the borders with the Gaza Strip and Lebanon that can be used by the system, which includes a launcher, radar and command post. (© 1995 - 2010 The Jerusalem Post. 12/09/10)