Officials fear US may cut military aid

[azurnoir]

The Defense Ministry is concerned that US President Barack Obama will cut military aid to Israel in an effort to pressure the new government to take action against illegal outposts and settlement construction, defense officials said.

"Mitchell is a known opponent of the outposts and the settlements," a senior defense official said. "The Americans may try to use the military aid as a way of pressuring the new government into dismantling outposts and freezing construction in settlements."

Officials in the latter two offices said they had not heard of any plans to cut American military aid to Israel, which was set out in a 2007 memorandum of understanding signed by both countries.

It promised that Israel would receive $30 billion over a 10-year period. This year, Israel received $2.5b. of that sum, and it is expected to receive $2.7b. in 2010.

At issue is a line in the memorandum stating that "both sides acknowledge that these funding levels assume continuation of adequate funding levels for the US foreign assistance overall and are subject to the appropriation and availability of funds for these purposes."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1235410695150&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[LeftishBrit]

1. Why should they not...

"use the military aid as a way of pressuring the new government into dismantling outposts and freezing construction in settlements"?

They use military aid as a lever all the time. Why not use it in the direction of peaceful solutions?

'Mitchell is a known opponent of the outposts and the settlements,'

Good.

[bemildred]

2. Well, they could just freeze the settlements and stuff themselves.

Then there would be no need to pressure them about it. And just think of the money that would be saved too, and the good PR. It's a win-win.

[Scurrilous]

3. Baird wants US to reassess aid to Israel

<snip>

"A US congressman plans to brief fellow members of Congress and the Obama administration about his recent trip to Gaza, saying the US should pressure Israel regarding border closures and reassess its military support for the Jewish state.

Rep. Brian Baird, a Democrat from Washington state, visited Gaza last week with fellow Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota and was struck by "the level of destruction, the scope of it, specifically the civilian targets - schools, hospitals, industry."

Baird also said Israel had "apparently willfully destroyed any capacity of the Palestinians to rebuild their own infrastructure."

<snip>

"Baird maintained that his fellow congressmen would benefit from his first-hand account of the situation in Gaza, as well as from photos and video footage he took. In addition to pictures of physical devastation in Gaza and families living in make-shift shelters there, Baird also has photos of damage from rocket fire on Sderot, which he condemned and planned to share as well. He also indicated he would like to bring in aid and medical workers from Gaza to share their stories.

"If our colleagues had seen what we have seen, I think their understanding of the situation would be significantly impacted," he said. "They would care about what happened to the Palestinians."

Baird added that he hoped they, as well as members of the Obama administration, would come away with a sense that "the US has a responsibility to insist on a change in the situation in Gaza and the situation in the West Bank."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1235410695275&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull