WASHINGTON, 11 May — The House Appropriations Committee yesterday approved $200 million in new assistance to Israel and one-quarter of that amount, $50 million, to the Palestinians.
The money is part of a $30 billion supplemental appropriations bill to address defense and domestic security needs after Sept. 11.
Congress originally intended to give extra cash only to Israel. The money for Palestinians was added after Secretary of State Colin Powell and the Bush administration made special requests for the funds.
“The secretary believes that he has no problem with the amendment, but it would be much more useful to the diplomatic efforts of the administration if it was balanced to include (the) $50 million,” said Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Arizona, who added the Palestinian amendment.
He said he originally intended not to approve the funding, “unless the administration requested it... obviously, we do not have an official budget request, but we do have the nation’s chief diplomat indicating support for the funding.”
The assistance for Israel is specifically for “activities relating to combating international terrorism,” while the Palestinian assistance is for “International Disaster Assistance,” and will be made available for humanitarian and refugee assistance for the West Bank and Gaza. The proposal specifies that none of the funds are to go to the Palestinian Authority.
“My amendment would do that, with the caveat that none of the funds could be made available for assistance for the Palestinian Authority. Unlike the European Union, none of our current or proposed assistance is provided to the Palestinian Authority directly, and I want to ensure that these funds carry that restriction as well,” Rep. Kolbe told his colleagues on the House floor yesterday.
“These funds are authorized for humanitarian and refuge assistance. We are all aware that the current intifada has resulted in severe distress for large numbers of Palestinians. Israel’s recent military action has exacerbated that problem. While I fully understand Israel’s need to take action against suicide bombers, we also need to ensure that innocent civilians receive needed humanitarian assistance.
“When it comes to the Middle East, I think Congress has a special responsibility to ensure that we do not complicate the work of the administration. However, after my discussions with the secretary of state, I am confident that this is not a problem for the administration. I support this funding, and ask for the support of the committee as well,” said Rep. Kolbe.
The committee also adopted an amendment affirming President George W. Bush’s announcement this week that the Untied States would not allow the International Criminal Court to have jurisdiction over US military serving overseas.
