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Follow arabnews. Baria Alamuddin. Yossi Mekelberg. Zaid M. Hafed Al-Ghwell. Andrew Hammond. More in Opinion. Latest updates. Saudi crown prince announces establishment of first non-profit city in the world. Search form Search. Hamas, which the U. That makes it the largest cumulative recipient of U. Other top recipients include Egypt and Afghanistan. The U. Under the current deal, the U.
It covers fiscal year through The deal gave Israel "unparalleled access to some of the most advanced military equipment in the world, including the F Joint Strike Fighter," the Obama White House boasted in Indeed, decades of such assistance has helped "transform Israel's armed forces into one of the most technologically sophisticated militaries in the world," the CRS report says.
Ocasio-Cortez is part of a growing minority in Congress raising questions about whether American taxpayer money is being used to exacerbate Palestinian suffering and entrench Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. She and others say the U. Cori Bush, a St. Louis Democrat, said in joining Ocasio-Cortez, Sen.
Woods said the U. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Hamas engaged a "clear violation" of international law in its targeting of Israeli citizens and suggested Israel may have also engaged in war crimes in hitting densely populated areas that resulted in high civilian casualties. Israeli officials have accused the U. This is not the first time critics have questioned the possible misuse of U.
That is partly rooted in the aftermath war in which Israel defeated the poorly led armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan and occupied the rest of historical Palestine — as well as some territory from Syria and Egypt. Partly to drive a wedge between Egypt and Syria and thwart Soviet influence, the US used the aftermath of the war to lay the groundwork for a peace deal between Israel and Egypt that was eventually cemented in You bet.
Bear in mind, Israel is not exactly in need of aid. It is a high-income country with a thriving high-tech sector. Like all things foreign policy-related, public opinion, money — and the influence money buys in politics — have also played a role in US policy towards Israel and the Palestinians. American public opinion has long tilted in favour of Israel and against the Palestinians, in part because Israel had a superior PR machine.
But headline-grabbing, violent actions by pro-Palestinian groups such as the Munich Massacre in which 11 Israeli Olympic athletes were killed also generated sympathy for Israel. More Americans are warming to the Palestinian cause, according to an annual survey conducted by Gallup. The February poll found that 25 percent of Americans sympathise more with Palestinians — a 2-percentage-point increase over the previous year and a full six percentage points higher than Favourable ratings for the Palestinian Authority also hit a new high of 30 percent — a 7-percentage-point improvement over That same Gallup poll found that 58 percent of Americans sympathise more with Israel, while 75 percent of Americans rate Israel favourably.
Members of the organisation wield influence through grassroots organising, advocacy and fundraising among American Jews in the US as well as Christian evangelical churches.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also a regular attendee. A smaller, pro-Israel group called J Street organised by Democrats has sought to build a constituency in US politics that is supportive of Israel and Palestinian rights.
Pro-Israel interest groups donate millions to US federal political candidates. That is about twice as much as they donated during the campaign, according to OpenSecrets. Former President Trump, driven by support for Israel from evangelical Christians and a like-minded leader in Netanyahu, was a staunch defender of Israel during his four years in office.
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