Friday, December 18, 2009

Obama approves aid to Israel, PA

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0%2...1976%2C00.html

I have to laugh about how rich we are. We can't afford ourselves but we still pay for everybody else.

US President Barack Obama this week signed the 2010 foreign aid budget law which includes $2.775 billion in security aid to Israel. This is the second year the budget is transferred to the Jewish state as part of understandings that the American assistance to Israel in the coming decade will total $30 billion.



The approved budget comprises, for the first time, $500 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority, including $100 million for the training of Palestinian security forces by American general Keith Dayton.



The aid will be handed over to the Palestinians under the condition that the American taxpayers' money will only be transferred to a Palestinian government whose members accept the conditions of the international Quartet – the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations. The conditions include recognizing Israel, renouncing violence and accepting past agreements signed with the Jewish state.



For the first time, the American foreign aid budget law includes a clause forbidding American export and import banks to use the aid funds for providing guarantees, insurance or credit to companies sullying refined oil to Iran.




In addition to the regular annual security aid, President Obama and the American Congress approve special additions to the Israeli defense industries for the development of technologies, particularly in the missile defense field.



The US has helped and continues to help Israel with the production line of the Arrow 2 missile defense project, which is jointly developed by the Boeing company and the Israel Aerospace Industries. For the past two years, the US has been funding the development of the Arrow 3 multilevel defense system against Iranian ballistic missile.