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ARMED AND DANGEROUS:

ARMED AND DANGEROUS: Arms Transfers to Israel during the Bush Administration OUTLINE Background on military aid to Israel Arms transfers during the Bush Admin Impact on Palestinian civilians Developments during the Obama Admin U.S. laws governing arms transfers Policy recommendations

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ARMED AND DANGEROUS:

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  1. ARMED AND DANGEROUS: Arms Transfers to Israel during the Bush Administration

  2. OUTLINE • Background on military aid to Israel • Arms transfers during the Bush Admin • Impact on Palestinian civilians • Developments during the Obama Admin • U.S. laws governing arms transfers • Policy recommendations

  3. BACKGROUND ON MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL From 1949-2007, more than $101 billion in total U.S. aid to Israel Previous Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) phased out economic aid and increased military aid between FY1999-2008 Current MOU to increase military aid to $30 billion from FY2009-2018, average increase of 25% President’s FY2010 budget request for $2.775 billion in FMF Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns Signs MOU with Israel, Aug. 2007

  4. ARMS TRANSFERS TO ISRAEL DURING THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION Foreign Military Sales (FMS):$25,203,000,000 Direct Commercial Sales (DCS):$6,161,109,945 Excess Defense Articles (EDA):$36,048,510 Total: $31,400,158,455 Jebalya Refugee Camp, Gaza Strip after September-October 2004 attack by Israel.

  5. FOREIGN MILITARY SALES (FMS) Air, $19.81 billion: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, C-130J-30 Aircraft, JP-8 Aviation Jet Fuel, T-6A Texan Aircraft Missiles & Munitions, $2.726 billion: GBU-28 & 39 Small Diameter Bombs, TOW, Hellfire, Bunker Defeat Munitions, AMRAAM, Harpoon, Sidewinder, JDAM’s, MK-80 series Naval, $1.9 billion: Littoral Combat Ships Design, $350 million: Construction of infantry bases Vehicles, $164 million: Troop carrier armored vehicles, Trucks Miscellaneous, $253 million: Patriot Missile Upgrade, M72A7 Light Anti-Armor Weapons

  6. DIRECT COMMERCIAL SALES (DCS) • Top Ten Categories, FY2001-2006 • Aircraft spare parts, $557,895,988 • Missile spare parts, $448,435,429 • Engine jet F-100 spare parts, $439,172,281 • Engine jet F-100 series (F-15, F-16), $254,240,643 • Aircraft fighter, F-16 spare parts, $209,766,607 • Ship components and spare parts, $197,708,382 • Aircraft fighter, F-15 spare parts, $186,171,596 • Electronics components and spare parts, $163,279,072 • Ammunition raw materials, $127,709,376 • Training equipment, $120,028,890

  7. EXCESS DEFENSE ARTICLES (EDA)

  8. PALESTINIAN CIVILIAN FATALITIES From January 2001-November 2008, Israel killed 2,086 Palestinian civilians not taking part in hostilities, of whom 723 were children under 18. Data taken from B’tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.

  9. PALESTINIAN CIVILIAN FATALITIES Gunfire: Bullets, Fletchettes, Grenades, Live Ammo, Missiles, Rubber-Coated Bullets, Shells, Other Total: 1,232 Children: 425 Helicopter: Missiles, Other Total: 458 Children: 134 Tank: Bullets, Fletchettes, Live Ammo, Missiles, Shells, Other Total: 275 Children: 121 Fighter Jet: Bombs, Missiles, Other Total: 28 Children: 16 House Demolition: Bombs, Other Total: 21 Children: 7 Explosion: Bombs, Booby-Trapped Cars, Shells Total: 7 Children: 6 Miscellaneous: Beatings, Fires, Hit by Vehicles, Shelling, Tear Gas, Other Total: 60 Children: 11 Armored Personnel Carriers: Live Ammo, Other Total: 5 Children: 3

  10. ‘OPERATION CAST LEAD’, DEC. 2008-JAN. 2009 • U.S. Weapons Used by Israel • F-16 and Apache helicopter gunshipsMore than $300 million in spare parts (2001-2006) • JP-8 Aviation Jet Fuel186 million gallons in July 2008 • Naval combat ships$1.9 billion in littoral combat ships in July 2008 • TOW, Hellfire, “bunker buster missiles”$1.3 billion deal with Raytheon in October 2007 • GBU-39 small diameter bombs$77 million deal with Boeing in September 2008 • Tanks, APCs, Vehicles, Night-Vision Goggles$450 million since 2001 • M825A1155mm white phosphorous shells 1,387 Palestinians killed* 773 didn’t take part in hostilities* 248 civilian police officers* 330 took part in hostilities* 36 undetermined(Source: B’Tselem, Sept. 2009) More than 5,500 Palestinians injured 4,000 buildings destroyed, $2 billion in damage to civilian infrastructure

  11. DEVELOPMENTS DURING THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION • Delivery of more than 300 containers of weapons to Israel, Mar. 2009 • FY2010 budget request for $2.775 billion in military aid to Israel, Apr. 2009 • Goldstone Report “unbalanced, one sided and basically unacceptable,” Sept. 2009 • House passes H.Res.867, 344-36 condemning Goldstone Report, Nov. 2009 Netanyahu, Obama, Abbas in New York, September 2009

  12. U.S. LAWS GOVERNING ARMS TRANSFERS Arms Export Control Act (P.L.80-829): Weapons are limited to “internal security” and “legitimate self-defense” only. Foreign Assistance Act (P.L.97-195): “No assistance may be provided…to the government of any country which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.” “Leahy Law” (Foreign Ops Appropriations Act): No aid to “any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State has credible evidence that such unit has committed gross violations of human rights.”

  13. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS • Future military aid to Israel should be considered from moral, legal, and political perspectives. Is Israel using U.S. weapons for “legitimate self-defense”? Why should U.S. taxpayers be complicit in the deaths of Palestinian civilians? How do these arms transfers promote a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians? How do these arms transfers promote U.S. goals of stopping settlements and ending the siege of Gaza? • Israel must be held accountable for its violations of the Arms Export Control Act. Congress must adhere to the provisions of the laws it enacts. Members of Congress should support Rep. Kucinich’s demand for a State Department investigation and make sure it is done completely and accurately. • Congress must condition future appropriations to protect innocent Palestinians from being killed by U.S. weapons. FY2011 Foreign Operations appropriations bill should include loan guarantee language. Funds appropriated may be used "only to support activities in the geographic areas which were subject to the administration of the Government of Israel before June 5, 1967."

  14. PO Box 21539 | Washington, DC | 20009 | 202-332-0994 | www.endtheoccupation.org

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