Netanyahu wants more U.S. aid from Obama

[Lakhota]

WASHINGTON — President Obama has proposed granting Israel the largest package of military aid ever provided by the United States to another nation, but he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remain deeply at odds over a figure for the assistance despite months of negotiations.

American officials have balked as their Israeli counterparts insisted on more generous terms for a new 10-year military aid package that could top $40 billion. The divide, which could have broad national security implications for both the United States and Israel, is exacerbated by the pent-up animosity between Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu, which has been stoked by their radically divergent views of the nuclear deal with Iran.

More: Obama-Netanyahu Rift Impedes U.S. Offer of Record Aid Deal for Israel

Why is the U.S. paying ANY aid to Israel? Israel is a rich nation - so Jewish welfare should be terminated.

 

[waltky]

How come Obama can't get along with Netanyahu - but Egypt can?...

State Department sent taxpayer money to group that attempted to oust Israel's Netanyahu
July 12, 2016 - The U.S. State Department sent nearly $350,000 to an advocacy group that worked to oust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a Senate report released Tuesday.

OneVoice Movement, a group that supported peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian factions, received grants from the State Department during a 14-month period ending in November 2014, according to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report. Shortly after the U.S. grants ended, OneVoice merged with an Israeli group Victory 15, which launched a political campaign in Israel with a goal to elect "anyone but Bibi," a nickname for Netanyahu. The chairman of the committee, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, claims that means that U.S. money was involved in foreign politics. "The United States should not be engaged in that kind of activity with taxpayer dollars," he said. "What it did probably was to make it even more difficult to come together after the election and continue to build on the relationship between Israel and the United States."

According to the report, the State Department grants helped OneVoice build its political infrastructure, including voter contact lists and professionally trained organizers. It also included expanding social media platforms intended to support peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. The Senate subcommittee said Tuesday no evidence was found that OneVoice spent the grant money to influence the 2015 Israeli election, but found in its report that "despite OneVoice's previous political activism in the 2013 Israeli election, the [State] Department failed to take any steps to guard against the risk that OneVoice could engage in political activities using State-funded grassroots campaign infrastructure after the grant period."

The report also said the State Department was unable to produce all the documents the subcommittee requested because it failed to retain complete email records. "While this report shows no wrongdoing by the Administration, and should put to rest such allegations, it certainly highlights deficiencies in the Department's policies that should be addressed in order to best protect taxpayer dollars," Claire McCaskill of Missouri, the Senate subcommittee’s top Democrat, said in a statement. The State Department said Tuesday in response to the report that it followed existing guidelines. "The report makes clear there’s no evidence OneVoice spent State Department funds to influence Israeli elections," said State Department Spokesman John Kirby.

State Department sent taxpayer money to group that attempted to oust Israel's Netanyahu | Fox News

See also:

United to Fight Against Terror, Israel and Egypt Reach New Levels of Unprecedented Cooperation
July 12, 2016 - “But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am Hashem your God.” Leviticus 19:34 (The Israel Bible™)

Recent reports of IDF drones operating in the Sinai in coordination with the Egyptian government have brought to light a sign of deepening relations between Israel and its former arch enemy. Egypt has been fighting a difficult war against the Islamic State (ISIS) in the Sinai since their long-time president, Hosni Mubarak was ousted in 2011. An anonymous former Israeli official told the Bloomberg news agency that Israeli drones have been used many times against ISIS-affiliated terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula. “The level of cooperation is something we’ve never experienced before,” Major-General Yair Golan, the Israeli Deputy Chief of General Staff, said to Bloomberg. “It’s not about love, it’s not about common values. I wouldn’t describe it as the relationship we have with the United States of America, but I think it’s a good starting point.”

This war, along with other mutual security concerns such as Gaza terror tunnels, have led to improved relations with the Jewish state. In addition to the drones, Israel is also reportedly sharing intelligence sources with Egypt. Further, Israel waived restrictions established in the Camp David Accords in 1978, allowing Egypt to deploy troops and heavy weapons beyond what is permitted in order to fight their common enemy in the Sinai. The Bloomberg article also noted that the growing affinity between the former arch enemies was due to domestic interests as well. Israel has become a major broker in the global power market with the opening of the massive Leviathan and Tamar natural gas fields in the Mediterranean. This surprising development may have come just in time to help thwart global efforts to force Israel into a possibly disastrous agreement with the Palestinians.

Egypt’s ties with Israel have led them to become involved in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Two weeks ago, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. On Sunday, he arrived in Jerusalem, marking the first time an Egyptian FM has visited Israel since 2007. Speaking at a press conference on Sunday alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Shoukry expressed his desire to bring about an Egyptian brokered peace agreement. “The goal we aim to achieve through negotiations between the two parties is one that is based on justice, legitimate rights and mutual willingness to coexist peacefully in two neighboring independent states in peace and security,” Shoukry said to reporters. “Egypt remains ready to assist in achieving this goal,” he said, adding that “such a momentous achievement will have a far-reaching, dramatic and positive impact on the overall conditions in the Middle East. The current state of affairs is, unfortunately, neither stable nor sustainable.”

Israel is presently coping with international pressure to jumpstart the peace process at Israel’s expense. Last January, former French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius introduced an initiative that called for an international peace conference and the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations by the end of the year. He proposed that if no agreement was reached between Israel and the PA, France will formally recognize a Palestinian state. In June, the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council adopted an amended version of the initiative, which did not include the ultimatum. Israel objects to the initiative. Prime Minister Netanyahu reacted to the proposal, saying, “There is one way to advance peace—direct negotiations without preconditions between the sides. This is the true way and I think that anyone who tries to deviate from it will not advance successful negotiations.”

Fighting Terrorism Sparks Unprecedented Level of Cooperation Between Israel, Egypt - Breaking Israel News | Israel Latest News, Israel Prophecy News

 

[my2¢]

How come Obama can't get along with Netanyahu - but Egypt can?...

Answer probably lies in the amount of dough that Israel is hitting up Egypt for, or lack there of.