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(Pete Souza / White House Photo)

Israel Lobby Watch

US can't ignore Palestine-Israel conflict forever

Ali Abunimah
13 October 2004

President Bush and Senator John Kerry have avoided mentioning the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in their campaigns. EI co-founder Ali Abunimah writes that while this is politically understandable, the next president will not be able to ignore it for long. US actions, combined with recent statements by a top Israeli official have only reinforced the worst suspicions of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims that the United States is in cahoots with Israel to allow Israel to complete the colonization of the West Bank. Is there a way forward?

The 1992 El Al Bijlmer crash: a cover-up of a chemical inferno?

Lizzy Bloem
4 October 2004

”Twelve years ago, an El Al Boeing airplane carrying military cargo crashed into an apartment building in the Bijlmer neighbourhood of Amsterdam. Forty-three people directly lost their lives. More people have died since then, and many are still suffering from unidentified diseases. The Dutch government denies any connection between health ailments and the disaster, though hundreds of people inhaled poisonous smoke from the burning airplane and the apartment building. Some of the El Al plane’s cargo is still unknown, but three of the four components of sarin nerve gas were present at the crash site.” Lizzy Bloem reports for Electronic Intifada from Amsterdam

Zogby Poll: Should AIPAC be asked to register as an agent of a foreign government and lose its tax-exempt status?

25 September 2004

Question: A tax-exempt organization that lobbies Congress on behalf of Israel, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (also known as AIPAC), has been under investigation by the FBI for allegedly receiving classified information from a Pentagon official and using this information on behalf of the government of Israel. In view of this investigation, do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree that AIPAC should be asked to register as an agent of a foreign government and lose its tax-exempt status?

With friends like these...

Mark Perry
9 September 2004

The FBI investigation into the leaked information on Iran to the Israeli lobby group AIPAC has inadvertently revealed a subtle, but significant, divide among Israeli and American officials. While it is true that Israel and the United States coordinate their policies at the highest levels - Dick Cheney often holds talks with Israeli politician Natan Sharansky while former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is viewed as one of the most influential men in Washington - that cooperation does not extend much beyond the Oval Office. Mark Perry analyzes the situation for the Palestine Report.

Pentagon/Israel Spying Case Expands: Fomenting a War on Iran

Juan Cole
29 August 2004

Here is my take on the Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal in the Pentagon. It is an echo of the one-two punch secretly planned by the pro-Likud faction in the Department of Defense. First, Iraq would be taken out by the United States, and then Iran. David Wurmser, a key member of the group, also wanted Syria included. These pro-Likud intellectuals concluded that 9/11 would give them carte blanche to use the Pentagon as Israel’s Gurkha regiment, fighting elective wars on behalf of Tel Aviv (not wars that really needed to be fought, but wars that the Likud coalition thought it would be nice to see fought so as to increase Israel’s ability to annex land and act aggressively, especially if someone else’s boys did the dying). Juan Cole comments.

Non Alignment Movement to impose sanctions on Israel

20 August 2004

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) called on its member states to bar all products and goods emanating from Israeli settlements at the end of the fourteenth Ministerial Conference of the Non-Alignment Movement (Mid-Term Review) in Durban, South Africa. The call for measures was issued by the Committee on Palestine of the Non-Alignment Movement. The NAM declaration called for its members to “decline entry to Israeli settlers and to impose sanctions against companies and entities involved in the construction of the wall.” “With regard to member states, the ministers called upon them to undertake measures, including by means of legislation, collectively, regionally and individually, to prevent any products of the illegal Israeli settlements from entering their markets,” said the declaration.

New Housing Units Sanctioned by Israel Show How Dead the Road Map Is

20 August 2004

August 19th, 2004 — Both the New York Times and the Washington Post carried stories yesterday about the announcement in Tel Aviv that Israel’s Housing and Construction Ministry would build up to 1,000 new housing units in settlements in the West Bank. According to these sources as well as Ha’aretz, the Israeli daily, 604 units will be built in Betar Elite and 141 in Maaleh Adumim, which lie in the area of East Jerusalem, and 204 housing units will be built in Ariel and 42 in Karnei Shomron, lying in the West Bank itself. So why does the U.S. administration still pretend that the Road Map still exists?

Israel's race to end Palestinian resistance before the US election

Hasan Abu Nimah
19 August 2004

While the world’s attention is almost completely absorbed by events in Iraq, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s onslaught on the Palestinians continues with extreme brutality. He hopes to put an end to the Intifada before a new American administration is in place, writes EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah, but while the Palestinian resistance may be exhausted for now, Israel is nowhere near victory and is, strategically, in its worst position against the Palestinians ever. Israel has missed a historic opportunity for peace on highly favorable terms, and the time is coming where it will be lucky to settle for much less than it has now.

EU: No evidence Israeli allegations money given to PA funded terrorism

10 August 2004

To date, there is no evidence that funds from the non-targeted EU Direct Budget Assistance to the Palestinian Authority have been used to finance illegal activities, including terrorism. This is the provisional assessment which the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) gave today, August 10, 2004, in reaction to a number of media reports on the matter. OLAF emphasizes however that the investigations are still ongoing, therefore final conclusions can not yet be drawn. This analysis is in line with the declarations already made by OLAF during a meeting of a special Working Group of the European Parliament on March 10, 2004.

Americans Want a New Policy Towards Israel

30 July 2004

A new Zogby International poll commissioned by CNI found that half of all likely American voters agree that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry “should adopt an entirely new policy, different from the present administration, towards Israel.” The poll, conducted during the Democratic Convention, showed that 51% of likely voters somewhat or strongly agreed that a policy change was necessary. Only 34% strongly or somewhat disagreed. The number who supported Kerry adopting a new policy towards Israel was even higher among Democrats: 70% of Democrats, Kerry’s voter base, supported such a change.

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