Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
Home > Will Obama Give Israel Even More American Weapons and Dollars to Kill
Palestinians?
________________________________________
Will Obama Give Israel Even More American Weapons and Dollars to Kill
Palestinians?
By Ann Wright [1] / AlterNet [2]
November 14, 2015
President Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on November 9 in
the White House and is considering the Israeli request to give a 50%
increase of nearly $1.5 billion in U.S. military funding bringing the U.S.
donation to the killing of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to $4.5
billion a year.
As it stands now, more that half of the U.S. foreign military spending for
2016 goes to Israel. As in all things, Israel gets special treatment by the
U.S. allowing Israel to spend 25% of its gift from the U.S. to pay itself
for buying weapons from its own weapons industry!!!
According to a recentcongressional report [3], Israel has received $124.3
billion in military assistance from the US since its founding in 1948.
The report states that "strong congressional support for Israel has resulted
in Israel receiving benefits not available to any other countries; for
example, Israel can use U.S. military assistance both for research and
development in the United States and for military purchases from Israeli
manufacturers.
In addition, U.S. assistance earmarked for Israel is generally delivered in
the first 30 days of the fiscal year, while most other recipients normally
receive aid in installments, and Israel (as is also the case with Egypt) is
permitted to use cash flow financing for its U.S. arms purchases.
In addition to receiving U.S. State Department-administered foreign
assistance, Israel also receives funds from annual defense appropriations
bills for rocket and missile defense programs. Israel pursues some of those
programs jointly with the United States."
As Obama was meeting Netanyahu, eight blocks away at the Palestine Center in
Washington, DC, a surgeon from Norway who works on behalf of his university
part of each year in al Shifa hospital in Gaza, told of the devastation,
destruction and human suffering these American weapons and dollars cause.
Dr. Mads Gilbert spoke of 51 days of terror in Gaza in the summer of 2014 as
the Israeli Attack forces brutalized the people of Gaza with Israeli and
U.S. artillery, assassin drone ordnance, F16s, hellfire missiles and dense
inert military explosives. Gilbert said that the 2014 Israeli attack on Gaza
was 500% stronger than 2009 attack. He was working at al Shifa hospital in
2009 when the IDF attacked Gaza. In 2014, the IDF fired 50,000 of those
shells into Gaza and conducted over 6,000 airstrikes, destroying over 3,500
buildings in Gaza City alone including over 50% of the hospitals in Gaza.
At the end of the 51-day attack, 2250 Palestinians were dead, including 551
children and 299 women. 3,500 Palestinian children were wounded and the 1
million children and youth who live in Gaza were all deeply affected by the
attacks. 60 percent of the 1.8 million who live in Gaza are under the age of
22.
Dr. Gilbert's presentation included mind-searing photos of the carnage
caused by Israeli attacks and the audio of the sounds of jets racing
overhead, bombs exploding and buildings collapsing.
Citing the report [4] of the United Nations Independent Commission of
Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict, Gilbert said the IDF purposefully
targeted the civilian population including entire families, that the IDF
purposefully targeted hospitals, ambulances and four UN shelter facilities.
The report stated that "Hundreds of Palestinian civilians were killed in
their own homes, especially women and children. At least 142 families lost
three or more members in an attack on a residential building during the
summer of 2014, resulting in 742 deaths. The fact that Israel did not revise
its practice of air-strikes, even after their dire effects on civilians
became apparent, raises the question of whether this was part of a broader
policy which was at least tacitly approved at the highest level of
government."
Additionally, "the commission is concerned about Israel's extensive use of
weapons with a wide kill and injury radius; though not illegal, their use in
densely populated areas is highly likely to kill combatants and civilians
indiscriminately. There appears also to be a pattern whereby the IDF issued
warnings to people to leave a neighbourhood and then automatically
considered anyone remaining to be a fighter. This practice makes attacks on
civilians highly likely. During the Israeli ground incursion into Gaza that
began in mid-July 2014, hundreds of people were killed and thousands of
homes destroyed or damaged.
The commission report stated: "Palestinian armed groups fired 4,881 rockets
and 1,753 mortars towards Israel in July and August 2014, killing 6
civilians, including one child and injuring at least 1,600." 66 Israeli
soldiers were killed in military operations inside Gaza.
The commission also reported: "In the West Bank including East Jerusalem, 27
Palestinians were killed and 3,020 injured between June and August 2014. The
number killed in these three months was equivalent to the total for the
whole of 2013. The commission is concerned about what appears to be the
increasing use of live ammunition for crowd control by the Israeli Security
Forces, which raises the likelihood of death or serious injury."
The commissioners wrote, "Impunity prevails across the board for violations
allegedly committed by Israeli forces, both in Gaza and the West Bank.
"Israel must break with its lamentable track record in holding wrong doers
accountable, and accountability on the Palestinian side is also woefully
inadequate."
Signaling further attacks on Gaza, during a November 10 talk at the Center
for American Progress in Washington, Netanyahu said [5] that Gaza has
"become this poison thumb, this poison dagger that sends rockets" into
Israel and that Israel must be prepared for a long period of tension.
This blind backing for whatever Israel does and providing the weapons to do
it is dangerous for the United States and for Israel. As Israeli journalist
Gideon Levy recently wrote concerning Hillary Clinton's unwavering support
for Israel, but can be expanded to the similar support given by both
Republican and Democratic led U.S. administrations: ". support (for) the
continued occupation is like a person who continues to buy drugs for an
addicted relative. This is neither concern nor friendship; it is
destruction. "false" friends of Israel - have been one of the curses on this
country for years. Because of them, Israel can continue to act as wildly as
it likes, thumbing its nose at the world and paying no price. Because of
them, it can destroy itself unhindered.
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/10/hillary-clinton-no-friend-israe
l [6]
Israeli attacks on people in Gaza and the West Bank will end when we the
citizens of the U.S. force our government to stop its military and
diplomatic backing of the State of Israel.
Ann Wright served in the US Army/Army Reserves for 29 years and retired as a
Colonel. She also was a US diplomat for 16 years and resigned in March,
2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq. She has been arrested for
challenging Bush and Obama administrations' policies of illegal wars,
torture, assassin drones and curtailment of civil liberties. She was a
witness for the defendants in the Oak Ridge Transform Now Plowshares trial.
She is the co-author of the book "Dissent: Voices of Conscience."
Share on Facebook Share
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Report typos and corrections to 'corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx'. [7]
[8]
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Source URL:
http://www.alternet.org/world/will-obama-give-israel-even-more-american-weap
ons-and-dollars-kill-palestinians
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/ann-wright-0
[2] http://alternet.org
[3] http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf
[4]
http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16119&L
angID=E#sthash.EcNevcl2.dpuf
[5]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/in-dc-netanyahu-tries-to-hea
l-wounds-over-iran-nuclear-deal/2015/11/10/188ed3fa-87f3-11e5-be39-0034bb576
eee_story.html
[6]
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/10/hillary-clinton-no-friend-israe
l
[7] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=Typo on Will Obama Give Israel
Even More American Weapons and Dollars to Kill Palestinians?
[8] http://www.alternet.org/
[9] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
Home > Will Obama Give Israel Even More American Weapons and Dollars to Kill
Palestinians?
Will Obama Give Israel Even More American Weapons and Dollars to Kill
Palestinians?
By Ann Wright [1] / AlterNet [2]
November 14, 2015
President Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on November 9 in
the White House and is considering the Israeli request to give a 50%
increase of nearly $1.5 billion in U.S. military funding bringing the U.S.
donation to the killing of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to $4.5
billion a year.
As it stands now, more that half of the U.S. foreign military spending for
2016 goes to Israel. As in all things, Israel gets special treatment by the
U.S. allowing Israel to spend 25% of its gift from the U.S. to pay itself
for buying weapons from its own weapons industry!!!
According to a recentcongressional report [3], Israel has received $124.3
billion in military assistance from the US since its founding in 1948.
The report states that "strong congressional support for Israel has resulted
in Israel receiving benefits not available to any other countries; for
example, Israel can use U.S. military assistance both for research and
development in the United States and for military purchases from Israeli
manufacturers.
In addition, U.S. assistance earmarked for Israel is generally delivered in
the first 30 days of the fiscal year, while most other recipients normally
receive aid in installments, and Israel (as is also the case with Egypt) is
permitted to use cash flow financing for its U.S. arms purchases.
In addition to receiving U.S. State Department-administered foreign
assistance, Israel also receives funds from annual defense appropriations
bills for rocket and missile defense programs. Israel pursues some of those
programs jointly with the United States."
As Obama was meeting Netanyahu, eight blocks away at the Palestine Center in
Washington, DC, a surgeon from Norway who works on behalf of his university
part of each year in al Shifa hospital in Gaza, told of the devastation,
destruction and human suffering these American weapons and dollars cause.
Dr. Mads Gilbert spoke of 51 days of terror in Gaza in the summer of 2014 as
the Israeli Attack forces brutalized the people of Gaza with Israeli and
U.S. artillery, assassin drone ordnance, F16s, hellfire missiles and dense
inert military explosives. Gilbert said that the 2014 Israeli attack on Gaza
was 500% stronger than 2009 attack. He was working at al Shifa hospital in
2009 when the IDF attacked Gaza. In 2014, the IDF fired 50,000 of those
shells into Gaza and conducted over 6,000 airstrikes, destroying over 3,500
buildings in Gaza City alone including over 50% of the hospitals in Gaza.
At the end of the 51-day attack, 2250 Palestinians were dead, including 551
children and 299 women. 3,500 Palestinian children were wounded and the 1
million children and youth who live in Gaza were all deeply affected by the
attacks. 60 percent of the 1.8 million who live in Gaza are under the age of
22.
Dr. Gilbert's presentation included mind-searing photos of the carnage
caused by Israeli attacks and the audio of the sounds of jets racing
overhead, bombs exploding and buildings collapsing.
Citing the report [4] of the United Nations Independent Commission of
Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict, Gilbert said the IDF purposefully
targeted the civilian population including entire families, that the IDF
purposefully targeted hospitals, ambulances and four UN shelter facilities.
The report stated that "Hundreds of Palestinian civilians were killed in
their own homes, especially women and children. At least 142 families lost
three or more members in an attack on a residential building during the
summer of 2014, resulting in 742 deaths. The fact that Israel did not revise
its practice of air-strikes, even after their dire effects on civilians
became apparent, raises the question of whether this was part of a broader
policy which was at least tacitly approved at the highest level of
government."
Additionally, "the commission is concerned about Israel's extensive use of
weapons with a wide kill and injury radius; though not illegal, their use in
densely populated areas is highly likely to kill combatants and civilians
indiscriminately. There appears also to be a pattern whereby the IDF issued
warnings to people to leave a neighbourhood and then automatically
considered anyone remaining to be a fighter. This practice makes attacks on
civilians highly likely. During the Israeli ground incursion into Gaza that
began in mid-July 2014, hundreds of people were killed and thousands of
homes destroyed or damaged.
The commission report stated: "Palestinian armed groups fired 4,881 rockets
and 1,753 mortars towards Israel in July and August 2014, killing 6
civilians, including one child and injuring at least 1,600." 66 Israeli
soldiers were killed in military operations inside Gaza.
The commission also reported: "In the West Bank including East Jerusalem, 27
Palestinians were killed and 3,020 injured between June and August 2014. The
number killed in these three months was equivalent to the total for the
whole of 2013. The commission is concerned about what appears to be the
increasing use of live ammunition for crowd control by the Israeli Security
Forces, which raises the likelihood of death or serious injury."
The commissioners wrote, "Impunity prevails across the board for violations
allegedly committed by Israeli forces, both in Gaza and the West Bank.
"Israel must break with its lamentable track record in holding wrong doers
accountable, and accountability on the Palestinian side is also woefully
inadequate."
Signaling further attacks on Gaza, during a November 10 talk at the Center
for American Progress in Washington, Netanyahu said [5] that Gaza has
"become this poison thumb, this poison dagger that sends rockets" into
Israel and that Israel must be prepared for a long period of tension.
This blind backing for whatever Israel does and providing the weapons to do
it is dangerous for the United States and for Israel. As Israeli journalist
Gideon Levy recently wrote concerning Hillary Clinton's unwavering support
for Israel, but can be expanded to the similar support given by both
Republican and Democratic led U.S. administrations: ". support (for) the
continued occupation is like a person who continues to buy drugs for an
addicted relative. This is neither concern nor friendship; it is
destruction. "false" friends of Israel - have been one of the curses on this
country for years. Because of them, Israel can continue to act as wildly as
it likes, thumbing its nose at the world and paying no price. Because of
them, it can destroy itself unhindered.
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/10/hillary-clinton-no-friend-israe
l [6]
Israeli attacks on people in Gaza and the West Bank will end when we the
citizens of the U.S. force our government to stop its military and
diplomatic backing of the State of Israel.
Ann Wright served in the US Army/Army Reserves for 29 years and retired as a
Colonel. She also was a US diplomat for 16 years and resigned in March, 2003
in opposition to the war on Iraq. She has been arrested for challenging Bush
and Obama administrations' policies of illegal wars, torture, assassin
drones and curtailment of civil liberties. She was a witness for the
defendants in the Oak Ridge Transform Now Plowshares trial. She is the
co-author of the book "Dissent: Voices of Conscience."
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Report typos and corrections to 'corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx'. [7]
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.[8]
Source URL:
http://www.alternet.org/world/will-obama-give-israel-even-more-american-weap
ons-and-dollars-kill-palestinians
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/ann-wright-0
[2] http://alternet.org
[3] http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf
[4]
http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16119&L
angID=E#sthash.EcNevcl2.dpuf
[5]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/in-dc-netanyahu-tries-to-hea
l-wounds-over-iran-nuclear-deal/2015/11/10/188ed3fa-87f3-11e5-be39-0034bb576
eee_story.html
[6]
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/11/10/hillary-clinton-no-friend-israe
l
[7] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=Typo on Will Obama Give Israel
Even More American Weapons and Dollars to Kill Palestinians?
[8] http://www.alternet.org/
[9] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
