WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States is planning to send assessment teams to Israel to help decide how much new US economic aid might be provided to help develop the Galilee and Negev regions, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday.

    The Bush administration has so far made no commitment, McCormack said at a news briefing. "At this point what we are doing is we are sending some teams to Israel to assess what might be possible," he said.

    Israel, the biggest recipient of American aid at 2.3 billion dollars a year, was reportedly asking for another 2.2 billion dollars to develop the areas where many of the 8,500 Jewish settlers leaving Gaza will be relocated.

    Israel began pulling out from Gaza and part of the West Bank onMonday. The removal of all Jewish settlers is being financed entirely by Israel at an estimated cost of two billion to 2.5 billion dollars.

    It was reported that the Gaza and Negev development projects are designed partly to accommodate dispossessed settlers with similar farming conditions. Enditem