A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews.

 
U.S. Fence Threat

Today's Times reports that the Bush Administration may reduce loan guarantees to Israel by all amounts spent on construction of the fence separating Israel from Palestinians. I have four comments on this:

1. The article states that this threat "had not been transmitted to Mr. Sharon's government. 'This takes us by surprise,'" an Israeli official told the Times. Given that Prime Minister Sharon just met with President Bush last week, it's rather condescending for this issue to first be raised in the media, rather than directly to Israel.

2. It's infuriating that only Israel is the recipient of these sorts of punitive sanctions. No sanctions were ever threatened against U.S. "allies" such as Saudi Arabia for their support of terrorism.

3. Even if the loan guarantees were to be reduced, shouldn't they be reduced, at most, by the amount spent on the portion of the fence that deviates from the 1967 border? What opposition could the Bush Administration have to the parts of the fence that run along the Green Line? The Times article touches on this issue, but indicates that it has not been considered very much.

4. The article quotes Colin Powell as saying that the United States is "concerned when the fence crosses over onto the land of others." However, to the extent that the fence "crosses over" beyond the 1967 borders, it mostly encompasses Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, rather than Palestinian villages. Powell's statement, however, is a clear indication that the State Department views all post-1967 areas as belonging to the Palestinians.
posted on 8/05/2003