Comment

Israeli Military Starts Ground Operations in Gaza

308
CuriousLurker7/17/2014 4:16:32 pm PDT

re: #282 Decatur Deb

Odd that graphic should include English.

Not really, IMO. There are plenty of people who are concerned, but speak neither Arabic nor Hebrew and, as was mentioned upthread, there’s plenty of American money going to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza every year, though for different purposes:

U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel

Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II. To date, the United States has provided Israel $121 billion (current, or non-inflation-adjusted, dollars) in bilateral assistance. Almost all U.S. bilateral aid to Israel is in the form of military assistance, although in the past Israel also received significant economic assistance. […]

CRS Report for Congress - April 11, 2014 (PDF)

Aid to the West Bank & Gaza is intended for non-military assistance (though some very well may be diverted):

U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians

Since the establishment of limited Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the mid-1990s, the U.S. government has committed approximately $5 billion in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians, who are among the world’s largest per capita recipients of international foreign
aid. Successive Administrations have requested aid for the Palestinians in apparent support of at least three major U.S. policy priorities of interest to Congress:

• Preventing terrorism against Israel from Hamas and other militant organizations.

• Fostering stability, prosperity, and self-governance in the West Bank that inclines Palestinians toward peaceful coexistence with Israel and a “two-state solution.”

• Meeting humanitarian needs.

Since June 2007, these U.S. policy priorities have crystallized around the factional and geographical split between the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Through its provision of aid to the Palestinians, the United States faces challenges in bolstering PA leaders in the West Bank without compromising their domestic popular appeal or encouraging authoritarian behavior. […]

CRS Report for Congress - September 30, 2013 (PDF)

Also:

The United States, through USAID, is the leading provider of bilateral development assistance to the Palestinians, supporting programs in the areas of democracy and governance; education; health and humanitarian assistance; private enterprise; and water resources and infrastructure.

usaid.gov