US cuts loan guarantees to Israel over settlement

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States decided on Tuesday to cut its loan guarantees to Israel by 289.5 million US dollars to show its displeasure over Israel's continued settlement activities in occupied Palestinian land, especially the building of a so-called security wall in the West Bank.

The deduction was finalized after a White House meeting between President George W. Bush's National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Dov Weisglass, chief of staff for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, reports here quoted informed sources as saying.

The sources also indicated that additional cuts could be made in the future from the 9 billion dollar package of US loan guarantees Israel is due to receive over three years.

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Could it be true? How cold is it?

The US should begin a slow cutting of all aid to "encourage" the GOI to abandon the Settlements and begin real peace overtures.

Rewards for good behavior, penalties for bad.

Similar pressure should also be applied to the PA, but the USG should also admit that Arafat is a factor and deal with him directly, depsite his sleazyness.

After all, we have to deal with Sharon, and he is no charmer either.

Though I suspect what it'd take for the Israeli government to change the path of the wall and to put a halt to it's settlement activities would be a mere threat of ceasing all funding....

Violet...

And abhor anything that prevents that solution from being realised.

One thing that doesn't help is the policy of the United States and Israel to continue integrating the occupied territories with illegal settlement programmes.

Hence, any move in the (correct) direction away from that policy is welcome, however small.

I'm not sure what part of this isn't trivially obvious. :shrug:

The United States ought to use the financial leverage it possesses over Israel to compell a sensible policy in this matter. Construction of this barrier on its present course, coupled with the regulations of martial law to be imposed on Arab Palestinians resident between this barrier and the border of Israel, leave little room for honest doubt that it is the intention of the current Israeli government to effectively annex and resettle the land between this barrier and the border. That would be, quite literally, a grave crime, and something any friend of Israel ought to oppose, and seek to prevent, as it can only do serious to Israel in the long run. As the tag has it: "Friends don't let friends drive drunk," and this seems to me an analogous case. Put bluntly, the U.S. ought to take sterner measures than this, but a beginning is surely welcome, and if this is ignored, may be the harbinger of greater pressures.

... sort of like saying little Ariel has to go to bed without dessert. not tonight, but at some future date. and who knows, by the time that date rolls around, maybe little Ariel will have gotten an extra dessert the day before. :(

If so what's the big deal?

That's would be a joke.

yes it is out of the $9 billion lottery bonanza that Israel "won" recently

The US only cut this portion of the loans because of settlement construction, not because of the fence. The latter may be cut in the future, but it hasn't been as yet.

"Aid Cut Tied to Construction, Not Security Fence" (Yediot Aharonot)

relocation of settlers inside Israel.

Jim: I'd like to "loan" you $9,000. Of course, like all the loans I've given you since 1984, I'll forgive it when it becomes due. You won't have to pay me back.

Bob: Great! This will really help me build my new garage in my neighbors backyard.

Jim: I've been meaning to talk to you about that since 1980. I really think annexing 55% of your neighbors land and 60% of his water isn't right. I'm gonna have to reduce the amount by $289.

Bob: No problem. Your objection is noted. Could you make the check out now? I gotta get to Home Depot before they close.

Bob : All of my neighbors unprovokedly attacked me, and tried to slaughter my whole family because they wanted my nice house and all of my land. I drove him back, and won a great deal of land. I gave back 90% of the land I captured to one neighbor who signed a peace treaty with me (but frankly they haven't changed their behavior all that much). I offered to give back about 95% of the remaining land to another entity just to be over with it, so I have given or offered to give 99% of the land I captured, and just need to keep some to have a defensible border as I have been consistently attacked, but they just walked away because they want to keep trying to slaughter my family. Amazingly him and all his backers are whining that I'm a voracious land thief. The funny thing is they have 99% of the land in the area already. Oh, and by the way, they say they want to slaughter you and all your family as well. And they and their backers have killed thousands of your family members over the last few decades.

Jim : I'll lend you some money. Do your best to defend yourself.