Unhappy with fence, U.S. may trim Israeli loans

[bigpoppanils]

Unhappy with fence, U.S. may trim Israeli loans

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Adam Entous

WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Unhappy with Israel's barrier fence through the West Bank, some of President George W. Bush's senior advisers are pushing to make small deductions from a $9 billion package of loan guarantees, people close to the deliberations said on Thursday.

Administration officials insist that no final decisions have been made on the fence, which Bush has called "a problem" because it would make it hard to develop a contiguous Palestinian state.

But several sources said deductions for fence-related activities, advocated by several senior Bush advisers, were likely to be made, though they would be small in size and likely come from loan installments in future years.

Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, and Vice President Dick Cheney could convey the administration's plans in meetings on Thursday at the White House with Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Deductions -- however small -- could anger Israel's staunch supporters in Congress, including some of Bush's closest Republican allies.

Bush administration officials have been debating for months whether to penalize Israel over construction of the fence.

Under U.S. law, the State Department must deduct from the guarantees, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, sums that are spent "for activities which the president determines are inconsistent with the objectives and understandings reached between the United States and the government of Israel."

The administration had all along planned to make deductions for settlement activities in Palestinian areas, but Israel and its supporters in Congress argued that the fence should not be counted.

Israel says it is building the fence to prevent Palestinian militants from entering Israeli territory and launching attacks.

Palestinians describe it as a new "Berlin Wall" that grabs territory and reflects an attempt to create a political border.

Israel began using the loan guarantees in September with a sale of $1.6 billion in bonds in the United States that will mainly go toward restructuring the country's debt with the lower rates.

Israel is allowed to use $3 billion a year in 2003, 2004 and 2005, although in can extend it to 2006.

When Bush's father was president, similar deductions were made from $10 billion in loan guarantees to help Israel absorb a flood of immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N13246936.htm

[djxeno]

Why are we giving them money anyway?

[bigpoppanils]

Originally posted by djxeno

Why are we giving them money anyway?

nah...i'm not going to say it...

[jamiroguy1]

We will continue to give money to Israel and that's that. The israeli lobby is too powerful to allow anything otherwise to happen.

[djxeno]

Originally posted by jamiroguy1

We will continue to give money to Israel and that's that. The israeli lobby is too powerful to allow anything otherwise to happen.

How did they get so powerful?

[xpyrate]

im also wondering why israel (correct me if im wrong here) but why israel is the ONLY country in the world to have a lobby in our gov't? why are they so special? Id consider England a far closer ally to us than Israel yet England has no voice in our gov't?! Don't make sense.