U.S. taxpayers are paying for Israel's West Bank occupation

[azurnoir]

According to a June 2010 fact sheet on the USAID Internet site, last year American taxpayers funded the paving of 63 kilometers of asphalt roads in the West Bank.

Travelers along the "original" West Bank roads, the ones enabling drivers to bypass Palestinian villages, can see signs declaring "USAID from the American People."
The roads are one of the initiatives of the United States Agency for International Development for building infrastructure in underdeveloped countries. Israel has already proudly left the club of developing countries and is not among the clients of USAID. Nevertheless, it appears the Smith family of Illinois is making the occupation a little less expensive for the Cohen family of Petah Tikva.

<snip>

What the site doesn't say is that a significant segment of the road goes through Area C - the 60 percent of the West Bank under exclusive Israeli civilian and military control and responsibility under the interim agreement of 1995 (the second Oslo agreement ). The agreement states: "Territorial jurisdiction includes land (and ) subsoil."

This is not the only occupation-perpetuating road funded by American money. Dror Etkes, an expert on the settlements, noticed a few days ago USAID workers energetically laying asphalt on two roads in the Samaria region (northern West Bank ) that crosses Area C. Israelis haven't been traveling these roads for years now because the taxpayer (in this case, the Israeli taxpayer ) has already paved separate, wide, modern roads for them.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/u-s-taxpayers-are-paying-for-israel-s-west-bank-occupation-1.324941

[Sherman A1]

1. Yup!

[Lil Missy]

2. And it is high time to wean Israel off the American government tit. n/t

[OHdem10]

3. Of course.

[Violet_Crumble]

4. That's so many different shades of wrong. It shouldn't be happening...

I don't have a lot of sympathy for the argument that US taxpayers shouldn't be paying for the Occupation when US taxpayers willingly 'donate' money to pro-Israel groups that oppose a peaceful and fair resolution to the conflict and which are full of hatred and intolerance towards Palestinians and it's all tax deductible.

That article deserves to be read by everyone here at DU. The way Israel is treating the Palestinian people isn't in any way at all acceptable...