| Author | Message | | Alpha | | Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 4:46 pm Post subject: Israel seeks $2.2 billion from US |
| From: BGJDAVID
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2005 10:44:43 EDT
Subject: Israel seeks $2.2 billion from US
We paid for the illegal settlements in Gaza to begin with and now we're going to pay to remove them. Does this cycle ever end? Our government has created a bottomless pit with the Jewish state. Now you can understand why Ariel Sharon was absolutely correct when he recently said "Don't worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it."
Israel seeks $2.2 billion from US for Gaza pullout
By Dan Williams
JERUSALEM, July 11 (Reuters) - Israel will ask the United States for $2.2 billion, one of the largest aid requests by the Jewish state, to pay for its planned withdrawal from the occupied Gaza Strip, Israeli political sources said on Monday.
The special funding would be used to pay for the pullout from Gaza and a corner of the West Bank slated to begin in the middle of next month, and for the relocation of some 9,000 evacuated Jewish settlers to underpopulated areas of Israel.
Israel is among the largest recipients of U.S. aid, and the $2.2 billion would be in addition to annual aid of around $2.8 billion. Much of the annual funding comes in the form of grants that are spent on U.S. military exports.
A senior Israeli political source said the U.S. aid request was the biggest in recent years, "which is hardly surprising given the unprecedented scale of the Disengagement Plan".
Israel's Haaretz daily said the request would be made by aides to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in talks with U.S. National Security Council official Elliot Abrams on Monday evening.
The Bush administration has agreed in principle to help fund the Gaza plan, Haaretz said. Washington wants the withdrawals to consolidate a five-month-old truce and spur talks on a U.S.-led "road map" for a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.
The Gaza plan funding would be the biggest U.S. aid package to Israel since 1992, when Washington paid $3 billion to make up for damage sustained from Iraqi missile salvoes in the Gulf war.
When Israel held peace negotiations with Syria and the Palestinians in 2000, then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak asked the United States for $20 billion to cover any required Israeli withdrawals. But the talks stalled and the request was scrapped.
Sharon casts the pullout as "disengagement" from 4-1/2 years of fighting with the Palestinians. He faces mounting hostility from rightists who condemn the move as a betrayal of Jewish claims on biblical land and a reward for a Palestinian uprising.
GAZA TO GALILEE
The cost of the Gaza withdrawal, the first time Israel will have uprooted settlements from occupied land Palestinians want for a state, is estimated at 8 billion shekels ($1.74 billion).
The Israelis leaving Gaza's 21 settlements and four of 120 West Bank enclaves have been encouraged by the government to move to the underdeveloped, outlying Galilee and Negev regions. This will require heavy investment in infrastructure.
"Israel cannot be just a country of disengagement," Deputy Premier Shimon Peres told Reuters. "We have to engage to rebuild a country and that is the development of the Negev and of the Galilee." He declined to discuss the amount of U.S. aid sought.
The government will spread the pullout cost over three years to keep the national budget deficit from rising significantly.
Haaretz quoted government sources as saying the U.S. money would be for military outlays like relocating army bases and for developing the Galilee and Negev.
The Palestinians, who were this week promised $3 billion in aid from the Group of Eight industrialised nations, welcome the prospect of gaining Gaza but suspect Sharon plans to parlay the pullback into a permanent hold on much of the West Bank, where the vast majority of Israel's 240,000 settlers live.
Israel's building of a vast West Bank barrier has further fuelled Palestinian fears. Israel calls the project a bulwark against Palestinian suicide bombers. Palestinians condemn it as a land grab, and the World Court has declared it illegal.
Israel on Sunday approved a section of the barrier it said would separate 55,000 Palestinian residents of Jerusalem from work, schools and hospitals in the city when it is completed.
The Palestinians, who want Arab East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, put the figure of residents who stand to be cut off by the barrier at about 100,000. Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognised internationally.
07/11/05 12:39 ET
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Sent: Saturday, July 16, 2005 7:05 PM
Subject: Billions for Israel - online video
> Billions for Israel
> By Lou Dobbs & Lisa Sylvester
>
> Why is a nation of only six and a half million people receiving more
US
> aid than any other country in the entire world? And why is that
country
> asking for even more US cash? Two billion dollars, in fact, even
though
> it's one of the world's richest countries? ... This is on top of the
> committment the United States made last week to help the G-8 fund a
$3
> billion dollar aid package to the Palestinians. A lot of promises as
the
> United States faces a record budget deficit.
>
> http://www.canadafirst.net/current_issues/jul1205fund.wmv
>
> (Windows Media Player Video - 9.07MB file)
>
> To download, right-click on the link and select "save target as."
http://nomorewarforisrael.blogspot.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.antiwar.com/reese/?articleid=6683
A Quarter of a Million Dollars Per Settler
by Charley Reese
The state of Israel – which, the last time I checked, was both a foreign and a sovereign nation – wants the American taxpayers to cough up $2.2 billion in addition to our regular $3 billion-or-so annual subsidy to pay for the withdrawal from Gaza.
Unless the American people raise hell about this, it's a done deal. In Washington, whatever Israel wants, Israel gets. Nevertheless, there are several reasons why the American people should rebel at the latest brazen attack on our treasury by Israel and its American supporters.
First, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided unilaterally to withdraw from Gaza. This was in lieu of following the president's peace plan, which Sharon has ignored from the very beginning. Where is it written, on stone or parchment or paper, that the head of a foreign government can decide to do something unilaterally and automatically send the bill to the American taxpayers? We will derive no benefits at all from the withdrawal.
Furthermore, Sharon's adviser spilled the beans in an Israeli newspaper interview. The withdrawal from Gaza is not part of any peace plan. It was just an excuse to put off serious peace negotiations. Sharon will remove about 8,000 settlers from Gaza who are a pain in the government's rear end anyway, shut down four tiny settlements on the West Bank, and that's it. As Sharon's adviser admitted, there won't be any serious negotiations with the Palestinians until they "turn into Finns."
A normal president would view Sharon's actions as unacceptable and his casual expectation that we would pay for it as a personal insult. President George Bush, however, when it comes to Israel, is just like Congress – a candy-bottom. That's why, despite all of our problems, all of our deficits, all of our debts, the U.S. government has gifted Israel with more than $90 billion in recent decades. If Washington gives in, we taxpayers will be spending about $227,000 per Jewish settler. That's a sporty moving expense.
We paid for the Camp David peace treaty in the 1970s – some $4 billion to Israel to get out of Egyptian territory it had no business occupying in the first place. And as part of that deal, apparently we've been paying Egypt an annual bribe of $2 billion or so a year for having signed the peace treaty.
The proper American attitude should be: "We think, Israel, it is in your interests to make peace with your Arab neighbors. That's your decision, however; if you would prefer to remain at war, that's OK with us, because either way – peace or war – we aren't going to pay for it."
As for those Christian cultists who take one verse out of a very large Jewish Bible and claim that it binds us to help Israel, I would just say that if you believe God wishes modern Zionists to occupy modern Palestine, let him pay for it. When did we get appointed fiscal agent for Almighty God? And when did God ever need anybody's help to do whatever he wanted to do? And where is it written in the Constitution that Congress can tax the American people and hand the money out as a gift to foreign countries?
It's been said of the suicide bombers that they hate us more than they love life. Well, the American people are going to have to teach their congressional representatives and senators to fear them more than they fear the Israeli lobby, or the American people will continue to be not only taxed unjustly, but dragged into Israel's quarrels in the Middle East.
I always add (not that it does any good as far as hostile reactions from the Israel First crowd are concerned) that the Israeli lobby has every right to ask for anything it wants. The fault is not with the lobby; it's with the congressional representatives and senators who betray their oath of office and betray you in order to placate a lobby that has shown itself to be not only effective but vindictive.
But, hey, it's your country. If you wish to allow some weak-willed politicians to lay it to waste and destroy the future for your children and grandchildren, that's your decision. But I'm a strong believer that even people who wish to commit suicide should know what they are doing.
Last edited by Alpha on Sat Jul 16, 2005 9:32 pm; edited 2 times in total | |  | | Alpha | | Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 5:04 pm Post subject: Israel to ask U.S. for $2.2 billion in aid for pullout |
| Israel to ask U.S. for $2.2 billion in aid for pullout:
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/598223.html
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3110984,00.html
*************************************************
The disengagement as smoke screen.
… the fence continues to creep far beyond the recognized borders of the State of Israel and to butcher the West Bank into cantons. Many housing units are being built at this very moment beyond the Green Line [pre-Six-Day War border]. Most of this building is going on between the fence and the Green Line as part of the attempt to make the 1967 borders disappear and to annex more territory. Apartheid roads, some of them for Jews only and some of them for Palestinians only, continue to be built.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/598262.html
Last edited by Alpha on Mon Jul 11, 2005 5:11 pm; edited 1 time in total | | | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 5:12 pm Post subject: War on Terror Should Focus at Source |
| James J. David is a retired Brigadier General and a graduate of the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College, and the National Security Course, National Defense University, Washington DC. He served as a Company Commander with the 101st Airborne Division in the Republic of Vietnam in 1969 and 1970 and also served nearly 3 years of Army active duty in and around the Middle East from 1967-1969. He is a regular contributor to Media Monitors Network (MMN).
War on Terror Should Focus at Source
by James J. David
(Monday July 11 2005)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"U.S. Policy in the Middle East has been the greatest recruiting tool that the terrorists could possibly have. Its lopsided support of Israel is the main reason we have so many problems we have today."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Jewish campaign to effectively silence any critic of Israel may well be the biggest contributing factor in this birth of world terrorism we see today.
In his weekly radio address, two days after the London bombing attacks, President Bush said: "We are now waging a global war on terror -- from the mountains of Afghanistan to the border regions of Pakistan, to the Horn of Africa, to the islands of the Philippines, to the plains of Iraq."
I wanted to scream and yell, "What about Israel, President Bush? If you really want to fight a war on terrorism, then the first place you need to go to is Israel. Stop wasting your time in those places you just mentioned and go to the source of terrorism. Go to where all the terror began. You can bring about a victory on the war on terrorism without sacrificing more than 1,700 American servicemen, and over $1 trillion of U.S. taxpayer money. Iraq isn't the place where terror began. Go to Israel. Go to where it all began and continues today."
All he would need to do is break clean from Israel and suspend all aid until Israel relinquishes its control of the occupied territories, stops building and expanding illegal Jewish settlements, accedes to the Palestinians right to self-determination and evacuates Jewish settlers now living in areas of the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights.
Just one day after President Bush made his remarks on the war on terrorism, Israel's Cabinet, ignoring Palestinian objections and U.S. misgivings, endorsed a Jerusalem separation barrier that will cut off 55,000 Palestinian residents from the city. The barrier leaves four Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, with some 55,000 residents, on the West Bank side, while including the largest Jewish West Bank settlement, Maaleh Adumim, with close to 30,000 people, on the Jerusalem side. This is the same wall that dips deep into the West Bank in several places to encircle main Jewish settlements grabbing thousands of acres of Palestinian land. Calling it anything other than a land grab would be misleading.
During this past week, the Israelis demolished 8 Palestinian homes and a gas station in Arab East Jerusalem in order to make way for a park. This, after a report showing that Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank was up 83 percent for the quarter even after Ariel Sharon had promised not to build any new settlements during last month's White House visit with President Bush. Once again, only misgivings came from the White House, and nothing from the State Department.
By getting tough with Israel and initiating my recommendations, the president could instantly, and without firing a shot, quiet guerilla warfare in Iraq, eliminate terrorism here and abroad, and reduce anti-American protests throughout the world. Further, he would be taking a major step toward restoring the U.S. to the position of respect and honor it once held among all Muslim and Arab nations.
U.S. Policy in the Middle East has been the greatest recruiting tool that the terrorists could possibly have. Its lopsided support of Israel is the main reason we have so many problems we have today. The unquestionable protection of Israel and our refusal to condemn and take action no matter what crimes and human rights violations it commits is the fuel that ignites the birth of terror. Get tough with Israel and you will succeed in the war on terror.
Sounds simple, but we know the obstacles that prevent such action are all too real. The Israeli and Jewish lobby, the fundamental Christians, the media, the corporate bosses, the ADL, the big campaign contributors, are all obstacles that keep our politicians from doing what's right. Who dares to criticize Israel without inheriting the label of "bigot" or, even worse, "anti-Semite?" It is absurd and dangerous to claim that bigotry is at the root of calls for adherence to basic standards of human rights. But the ongoing threat of the "anti-Semitic" label helps to prevent U.S. politicians from criticizing Israel. Which one of them would be brave enough not to vote "yes" to any of their demands, even when the demands threatens peace to the world? The Jewish campaign to effectively silence any critic of Israel may well be the biggest contributing factor in this birth of world terrorism we see today.
When the day comes when we have a president and congress brave enough to finally say, "enough is enough," then we will see the beginning of the end to world terrorism. Until then, we have a long war ahead.
President Bush has the power to end the reign of terror right now if he is willing to break clean from the stranglehold of the Jewish lobby. Politically, it is a hard choice, but ultimately a sensible and realistic one that would bring about true peace and justice in the Middle East and reduce tensions around the world.
>Source:
by courtesy & © 2005 James J. David
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http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/16650 | | | | Alpha | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 7:44 am Post subject: 55,000 Palestinians to be cut off by J'lem fence |
| From: BGJDAVID
Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2005 11:02:46 EDT
Subject: 55,000 Palestinians to be cut off by J'lem fence
If the United States and Great Britain are really serious about defeating terrorism then the first and foremost priority should be at the source of terrorism. And the best place to start would be in Israel and the crimes committed against the Palestinian people. Allowing Israel to continue committing such crimes will insure defeat of any battle against terrorism. The Israeli government and the Jewish lobby have successfully silenced any critic of Israel no matter what crimes she commits. This silence is what fuels the fires of terrorism. When will the American people wake up?
Haaretz - Israel News - 55,000 Palestinians to be cut off by J lem fence
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon entering the weekly government meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday. (AP)
Last update - 15:51 10/07/2005
55,000 Palestinians to be cut off by J'lem fence
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
The separation fence surrounding the Jerusalem area will cut off some 55,000 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem from the rest of the city, the government ministers decided during the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday.
The government also decided on September 1 as the new deadline for completing the construction of the fence, which will leave the Shu'afat refugee camp and the village of Aqab to the east of the fence.
The government approved a plan to address the "daily life" issues of Jerusalem's Palestinian population who will be affected by the separation fence.
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According to the plan, the Jerusalem municipality will make arrangements to ease passage at the fence and to bus students from one side to the other, as well as procedures for administering medical and humanitarian services to those in need.
The government will also encourage East Jerusalem hospitals to open branches beyond the fence. Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will oversee the implementation of the plan.
The ministers approved a supplementary NIS 17 million to the Public Security Ministry budget as well as NIS 8 million for the Jerusalem municipality for providing the new services.
Health Minister Danny Naveh said that the intention is to create convenient passage for the stranded residents and to allow them to receive health services on both sides of the fence without interference. Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that 3,655 school children will also be left on the cut off side of the fence, "for whom we will have to provide daily transportation to their schools," Olmert said.
The cabinet ministers were told that the Jerusalem fence will include 12 passage gates, and that schools, post offices and National Insurance branches will be built on the other side of the fence, in order to alleviate the life situation of the residents caught behind it.
Minister Without Portfolio Haim Ramon said the gates and crossings in the fence must remain open, and be shut down only in emergency situations. According to Ramon, public services on this side of the fence must be brought to the same level as on the other side.
Deputy Construction Minister Avraham Ravitz said "we want the changes to remain unfelt, so that leaving tens of thousands of Palestinians outside the fence will not cause them to feel isolation and inability to function." | | | | Alpha | | Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 3:47 pm Post subject: CNN poll: Americans balk at post-disengagement aid to Israel |
| CNN poll: Americans balk at post-disengagement aid to Israel
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Hilary Leila Krieger, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 14, 2005
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Israeli and American officials described talks held this week with the White House over millions of dollars in post-disengagement aid to Israel as "constructive," while some US media reports expressed criticism at the idea of more American dollars heading this way.
Both sides called the two-hour meeting held Monday night in Washington preliminary, with no decisions being made. More talks are expected in the near future.
"That meeting was useful in giving us a better understanding of Israel's plans for development in the Negev and Galilee regions," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said at a press briefing Tuesday. "I think we'll now be considering how the US can best assist Israel with those efforts."
He would not confirm the $2.2 billion figure the Israelis have attached to the deal.
On Monday, CNN aired a report that was introduced as: "How much is enough? Israel asks the United States for billions more in economic aid. That's on top of the almost $3 billion we provide each year for a nation of 6.5 million people."
In addition to criticism from the heads of foundations for Middle East peace and taxpayer accountability, the report pointed out that the aid package is one of the largest Israeli requests for US monies, that it would be the most Israel has requested since it received $3b. to offset the damage caused by Iraqi scuds during the Gulf War, and that the current level of support, at some $2.5b., is more than any other country receives.
The report ended with a viewer poll asking: Should US taxpayers be footing the bill for Israel's pullout from Gaza?
On Tuesday night, the network reported that 94 percent of the viewers who responded voted no as opposed to only 6% who said yes.
As first reported in The Jerusalem Post, $1b. is being considered for development of the Negev and Galilee, an area President George W. Bush has expressed his commitment to help. The rest of the aid would go to military needs, mostly the relocation of bases following the Gaza withdrawal to peripheral areas.
Whatever the final sum agreed to by the White House, any US funding would need congressional approval. A special appropriations bill could be expected in the fall for money that would be paid next year, one official said.
Despite Israeli media reports that early leaks of the sum under consideration hurt Israel and could reduce the amount of aid offered, an Israeli official close to the issue told the Post the information hadn't affected the talks.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1121221100920&p=1078027574097 | | | | | ©2002-2009 WarWithoutEnd.co.uk |
