From the Associated Press: White House Hopes to Boost Palestinian With Visit and Aid, May 26, 2005:
Bush also announced that United States will direct $50 million for housing and other construction aid to the Palestinian Authority to help Palestinians in Gaza once Israelis leave this August.
[…]
The $50 million in new direct aid is part of a $150 million package that Bush is seeking for the Palestinians from Congress. He said the money would help Palestinians settle into Gaza once the Israel withdrawal set for this summer is complete.
“America wants to help,” Bush said.
Reacting to the announcement, Palestinian legislator and human rights activist Hanan Ashrawi said the $50 million was just a “modest beginning.”
“I’m sure the U.S. is capable of giving greater support not only to Gaza, but to the West Bank,” she told The Associated Press.
RELATED: US Senate approves 2005 Israel aid package – Israel will receive $2.2 billion in military aid and $480 million in civilian aid: “Each year, Israel receives the largest share of US foreign aid, which totals $17 billion in the current fiscal year. Egypt is the second largest recipient of aid, with $1.9 billion. Jordan receives $464 million, after the 0.59% deduction. In addition to the annual aid, the US has provided Israel with $9 billion in loan guarantees over three years, or $3 billion a year.”
U.S. Financial Aid To Israel: Figures, Facts, and Impact: “Total U.S. aid to Israel is approximately one-third of the American foreign-aid budget, even though Israel comprises just .001 percent of the world’s population and already has one of the world’s higher per capita incomes.”
4 replies on “The Middle Eastern Tsunami, or, Buying new Caterpillar bulldozers to repair the damage done by your older Caterpillar bulldozers”
maybe you can add a link (or do some research!) about how Israel comprises just .001 percent of the world’s population and contributes a wealth of medical and scientific advances that benefit all of mankind.
oh fuck – just look up how many nobel prizes have been won by Israeli citizens.
oh – then you can check that against every other nation in the middle east.
i guess i like Israel most because they have a gay pride parade.
check that against the rest of the middle east too.
there’s just a lot you really don’t know about JP.
you could fill a book!
What is this supposed to mean? That the U.S. should give equally to a Islamist soon-to-be pseudostate like Palestine as it gives to Israel?
What happens in most Palestinians-vs-Israelis debates is that they forget: the majority of that military “aid” is a boost for the U.S. because they force the Israelis to spend it only on U.S. manufactured goods. The Israelis need such a large package because their army defends against all the Arab countries and not just the Palestinian terrorists. Israel is outnumbered 500:1 so they are the real underdogs here.
Yeah and all those assasinations via helicopter-fired-rockets aren’t cheap! Poor Israel, gone crazy with the “enemies at the gates” mentality.