Us to send 17.6billion to Israel

[EasterIssland]

17.6 billion would include funds to help replenish Israel's missile defense systems, procure additional advanced weapons systems, and produce artillery and other munitions

why
why does Israel need so much money if they’re such a successful country
why Israel? Why not any other country?
What benefit does usa get from funding a conflict ?

can anyone explain why does usa keep on aiding Israel when this money could save many lives around the world?

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-house-panel-recommends-176-billion-military-aid-israel-2024-02-03/

Precisely becsuse Israel is a successful country and faces an existential threat from the countries around it. Iran specifically has vowed to destroy Israel & kill all jews. Of course the US cant allow this to happen.

If Israel is a successful country as you say why does it need external aid instead of using their own money to defend themselves?

how many other successful countries does us fund around the world

Are you denying that Israel is a successful country? Really? Its all easy to look up. It wont be a successful country if it has to divert all its resources into defending itself when it is facing a huge threat. Its various industries & services are part of a global economy which is beneficial to its trading partners. Pretty basic economics I would have thought. The US's funding to other countries is readily available information which you can also look up. Its also a moral & atrategic imperative to deter Israel's neighbours who have declared their intention to kill the jews.

The US is paying through the nose for a static aircraft carrier.

Israel, like the rest of the world, is facing an existential threat from the actions of the Israeli government.

For some reason the Israeli government think they can commit genocide with impunity and imagine the USA will be able to save them from the collective might of countries who have a problem with that.

There are limits to what the USA can offer in terms of military support. If Israel can't win it has a policy in place intended to take everyone down with it which probably means nuclear. I think the Netanyahu government is psychopathic enough to go through with it.

Israel is a key American ally in the region, and it became even more important when the Iranians overthrew the Shah. They need Israel even more now that Iran has allied itself with the Chinese and Russians. It's all politics.

No im not denying that Israel is a successful country

im asking why a successful country needs billions of foreign aid. Why can’t they pay for it themselves. I’d prefer this money being spent in non successful countries instead

so as per your words and correct me if wrong , it wouldn’t be a successful country if they didn’t have this foreign aid?

Think it's true to say that Israel's economy is struggling atm - frequent air raid sirens regularly disrupt workers/businesses, large nos soldiers on the battlefield rather than in employment, evacuated civilians unable to go to work, trade and tourism disrupted

So the war has definitely had an impact

It obviously wont be a country at all if it is wiped off the face of the earth. I dont know why you are pretending not to understand this? Being in a state of war, does tend to have an impact. This is not hard.

'Its all politics' makes it sound superficial. Its not superficial when Jews who lived for centuries in countries across the Middle East have been persucuted & purged from these countries. Israel is pretty much the only place where jews arabs christians, druze etc women, gay people, etc have a chance of living a decent life in a thriving economy. Iran is a theocratic dictatorship, pulling strings across the region.

There's also the loss of overseas workers - many of whom returned home after 7/10 and to a lesser extent Palestinian workers from Gaza and the West Bank

Discharging the Iron Dome is eye-wateringly expensive too tho' this may be directly financed by the US - seen different accounts

Yes its the sophisticated nature of Israel's deterrent that is expensive. They lived wirh regular rocket attackd from Gaza & Hezbollah before 7 October. The threat is constant but has now escalated to a ground war.

Its a weird question this. I mean the much more inexplicable thing is why the world turned a blind eye to Hamas diverting billions of aid to buying rockets, and building tunnels designed not to protect their citizens (compare Ukraine) but to wage war & create a network that turned gaza into a massive human shield.

Those billions should be suspended immediately unless Israel agrees to a permanent ceasefire and a peace plan for the future overseen by a collection of other Countries. That should be an incentive for them.

I'm maybe not the best person to answer your question but my understanding is that the Biden administration took their eye off the ball wrt the Middle East and left the ongoing issues to quietly fester away until the bombshell of 7/10. Also Bidens allegedly poor relationship with Netanyahu didn't help

Netanyahu enabling massive Hamas funding for Gaza from Qatar to divide and rule between Hamas and the PA was in retrospect a questionable policy - probably built a few tunnels

Hamas not building air-raid shelters for the civilian population - not unexpected really - but also the blockade on building materials, the dense population and local geology would have prevented their construction

Absolutely this. Thank fuck someone is standing up in support of them. I still can't believe that all the hostages haven't been freed.

I think it's true to say that in recent years a large part of the 'diverted aid' came from Qatar who were also funding legitimate re-building so had permission to import building materials but would also have had an interest in Hamas nefarious building projects.

Other large funders had had their fingers burnt before so were much more careful auditing where aid was going

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That all makes sense, I don't actually know the truth of it. The politics is certainly murky because its a complex, messy situation & netanyahu is certainly corrupt. Everyone I know with connections to Israel wants him gone.

Im struck by your comment on Biden taking his eye off the ball. Im NOT criticising you but I do think its interesting how the world expects america to police the world when it suits them but maintains it is the most evil of colonialists when it does. I mean all these people suddenly consumed with a moralistic passion for gazan children also took their eye off the ball too, right?

@Efacsen 'Hamas not building air-raid shelters for the civilian population - not unexpected really - but also the blockade on building materials, the dense population and local geology would have prevented their construction'

Maybe those tunnels? Compare Ukraine where they are building underground schools. Has Hamas done anything to protect its population? It knew what would happen when it launched an attack of the scale and brutality of 7/10.

I wasn't clear about Biden - I meant more in terms of the peace process rather than policing Israeli Hamas actions, which they've been involved in for decades.

Their have always been activists and humanitarian workers passionate about the well-being of Gaza's children and other vulnerable groups for years and years

You don't need me to tell you why there is now worldwide concern about their safety

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They're protecting their "interests" in the Middle East, nothing to do with human lives as long as they're in control of the area

Yes, sure, I know you meant in terms of the peace process. They get little credit for their attempts to broker diplomatic deals, but we kind of expect them to do it anyway & then complain when they protect their own interests. You cant really expect one without the other is, I guess, what I am saying.

On the other point, yes there have been and are good people involved in promoting peace and understanding on this issue & involved in the tough work of finding solutions for a very long time. Some of them were murdered or taken hostage on 7 October. I was more referring to the hysterics of the diletantes who have just picked it up recently, are now acting like its only human rights crisis in the world and the absolute moral touchstone on which everyone/thing is judged. The proliferation of threads on MN (& very few other issues) being a symptom of that.

Like I said Hamas inaction in building/sharing their tunnels is not unexpected and Ukraines governance of Ukraine can't really be compared to Hamas behaviour in Gaza in any way whatsoever

Hamas are parasites on the people of Gaza

The US? They arent and never have been in control of the area. Im wondering who would benefit from Iran being in control? Not women, not gay people, not Kurds, not jews, not druze, not christians, not various sections of islam that dont align with Iran's leaders etc etc etc

1. It’s a vote winner. Historically the American public supports Israel
2. That money usually flows back into the American economy because it can only be used to purchase American weapons
3. America buys Israeli weapons
4. It is the only liberal democratic country in the Middle East which aligns to western values
5. It is supposedly the key ally in the region who will make the Middle East stable and secure allowing the US focus to shift to other threats.
6. It is important for Israel not to feel alone

Personally, the more I read the more I think it has become a liability and a waste of money. It would be different if that money was buying some sort of influence. However, it’s unconditional and Israel will do what Israel wants to do regardless of US concerns. It sells weapons to China, to Venezuela. It makes the US look like a hypocrite on the World stage with its treatment of the Palestinians. Saudi Arabia is also a key ally. There are problems with the relationship but aligning on values has never been a key requirement for the west, as it has propped up many a despot when it suits.

Should we also stop aid to the Palestinians until Hamas agrees to a ceasefire too? Fair is fair, right?!

That's already happening