Israel has withdrawn its opposition to the US sale of 53 Harpoon-II anti-ship missiles to Egypt (along with 20mm CIWS ammunition and other items, total value $255 million) after the US agreed to downgrade the software so that the missiles cannot attack land targets. The Israelis had asked the US to sell them Tomahawk cruise missiles as part of the deal but dropped this request after being told that the US cannot spare any of them and feared that they would cause a new regional arms race.--Stephen V Cole