Israel seeks "peace" on a war footing

by MC12

Israel went into the latest round of "peace" negotiations with 
Syria with a request for $17 billion worth of new weapons, 
reportedly including cruise missiles for the first time.(1) The 
idea of the U.$. compensating Israel for concessions to Arab 
states goes back at least to the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai 
desert in the 1970s, resulting in the continuously increased 
militarization of Israel. According to the New York Times, the 
U.$. "has provided $100 billion since 1979 to support the peace 
deal between Anwar el-Sadat of Egypt and Menachem Begin of 
Israel."(2)

The latest request was delivered by the director-general of 
Israel's defense ministry, Amos Yaron. Yaron is a war criminal, 
who commanded the troops who murdered 2,000 Palestinian and 
Lebanese civilians during the 1982 Sabra and Shatila refugee camp 
massacre in Beirut, Lebanon. Yaron was fired after the massacre, 
but has made his way back, serving as military attaché to the U.$. 
in the late 1980s. Canada refused to grant him attaché status 
because of his record, but the U.$. calls his position an 
"internal matter" and has worked with him directly.(3)

The request for weapons includes two wings of Apache helicopter 
gunships, Blackhawk helicopters that can carry troops, Hercules 
transport planes, three AWACS, refueling planes, a ground station 
for collecting information from U.$. satellites, and funding for 
missile defense systems.(4)

Total aid from the U.$. to Israel is about $3 billion per year, of 
which Israel is expected to spend $1.9 billion on U.$. military 
products. That makes Israel the largest recipient of U.$. aid in 
the world.(5) Last year Egypt was awarded $2 billion in aid.(6)

Syria might also demand aid in exchange for a deal with Israel, 
but that might have to come from Europe or Japan, due to anti-Arab 
politics in Washington.(2) Still, together the aid packages for 
this "peace" deal are likely to result in a bonanza for U.$. 
military contractors, and guarantee a heightened state of 
militarization for the Middle East for years to come.

Notes:

1. The Independent (London) January 5, 2000.

2. New York Times, Dec. 17, 1999. p. A21.

3. Jerusalem Post, Sept. 23, 1999; Federal News Service,  Nov. 29, 
1999.

4. UPI Jan. 4, 2000.

5. Christian Science Monitor, Nov. 18, 1999.

6. Associated Press, July 21, 1999.