Rice to present U.S. response to Israel's $14 billion aid request

By Moti Bassok

U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was expected to give her country's response to Israel's request for 14 billion in aid following a White House meeting Monday with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's bureau chief Dov Weisglass, Treasury Director-General Ohad Marani, and Israel's ambassador to the U.S. Danny Ayalon. Marani informed Rice of Israel's economic situation and requested $10 billion in loans and $4 billion in special military aid, to be spread over the course of several years.

President George Bush is expected to quickly approve the request with minor changes, Israeli sources said.

The sources said the Republican congressional majority would approve the aid within 3-6 months. After Finance Ministry director general Ohad Marani and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's bureau chief Dov Weisglass submit the request, it will be handled by both Israeli and U.S. officials who will determine the duration of the grant and guarantees, and various technical details. The guarantees will apparently be for five years but it is unclear how the defense aid will be laid out.

Sharon told Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz during a meeting eight days ago with Finance Minister Silvan Shalom, that as soon as the U.S. makes a positive decision on the defense grant, he will consent to some of Mofaz's requests for budget increases. The sources say the grant will allow the government to direct defense spending to growth oriented projects.

Some treasury officials are not pleased with the request for such high guarantees, fearing that some of the money will not be directed to growth projects.

However, sources at the prime minister's office say news of the aid will improve the country's international financial standing, and could encourage both local and foreign investors to reconsider Israel. The U.S. aid will also substantially influence the strategic situation in the Middle East.

Sharon first raised the question of aid in his Washington meeting with Bush in mid-October. The formal request was completed by Marani's staff in the past two weeks, with the explanation that Israel has increased military spending in the past two years because of the Palestinian uprising and the expected U.S. war with Iraq. Last week, Turkey and Jordan received generous American military aid of $2 billion to prepare for the possible war with Iraq.

The request for the guarantees - the option of getting improved loan terms from U.S. banks - is based on Israel's need to stabilize the economy and pull out of recession.

Last week Washington approved Israel's annual military aid of $2.16 billion for 2004, and is expected to approve its civil aid soon.

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Middle East - AP

Israeli Army Kills Palestinian Boy

Mon Nov 25,10:02 AM ET

By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer

NABLUS, West Bank (AP) - Israeli troops shot and killed an 8-year-old Palestinian boy in Nablus on Monday as hundreds of youths ignored a curfew and threw stones at soldiers on their way home from school, witnesses and hospital officials said.

AP Photo

Reuters

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The children gathered in the center of the city, hurling stones at an army jeep, witnesses said. The soldiers opened fire, killing the boy, Jihad Faqeh, hospital officials said. Seven Palestinians were wounded, including two adults who were in serious condition.

The Israeli army said troops fired to disperse stone-throwers, and that two explosive devices were thrown toward soldiers.

Israeli troops have been patrolling Nablus, the West Bank's largest city, since June, keeping more than 200,000 residents under curfew for much of the time. Israel says Nablus is a stronghold of Palestinian militants and that its military presence there is necessary to prevent attacks on Israeli civilians.

Hundreds of other Nablus residents ventured out onto the streets, violating the curfew, to buy goods to prepare the evening meal that breaks the daylong fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

Observant Muslims don't eat, drink, smoke or have sex during daylight hours throughout Ramadan. Large dinners just after sundown are the norm, though the Israeli military presence in most West Bank towns, accompanied by a curfew that keeps shops closed, has made it difficult for many families to prepare the meals.

In the West Bank town of Bethlehem, the Israeli army pulled its troops out of the center of Bethlehem, and Palestinian residents ventured out of their homes for the first time since last week.

But the army said there was no formal withdrawal, and soldiers and their armored vehicles remained nearby, gathering at a building that was under construction on the edge of town.

The army rolled into Bethlehem early Friday in retaliation for a suicide bombing that killed 11 bus passengers in nearby Jerusalem. The soldiers placed the residents of Bethlehem under a strict curfew, and arrested more than 30 suspected militants. The Jerusalem bomber came from Bethlehem.

Residents said they saw armored vehicles leave Bethlehem early Monday for the nearby village of Beit Sahour. Believing the army had pulled back, they went out onto the streets to buy essentials, such as bread and milk. Vendors opened their vegetable stands and life slowly began to return to normal.

But then border patrol officers in jeeps drove into the town, checking identification cards and sending residents back home. An army spokesman said there had been no formal pullout, and a contingent of troops parked their armored vehicles in a lot near a nine-story building on the edge of Bethlehem.

Throughout the West Bank, the Israeli army often pulls back to the outskirts of Palestinian areas, prepared to immediately return if it deems necessary.

Israeli armored vehicles, which had been surrounding the Church of the Nativity — built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born — were gone Monday. Christians were not permitted to attend church services Sunday.

The army has said it would like to leave Bethlehem before Christmas, when the town holds large celebrations in more peaceful times. But the army said it intends to first arrest all the suspected militants on its wanted list. More than 30 suspects have been arrested since Friday.

In other news, the army said it prevented a suicide attack Saturday when troops arrested two Hamas bombers near Nablus in the West Bank. Computers packed with explosives were found in the taxi the two were riding in, the army said. The computers were blown up in a controlled explosion.