CAIRO, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The 22-country Arab League Thursday criticized the United States for considering $12 billion in new military and economic aid to Israel at a time the bloc says Israel has been conducting unprecedented aggression against the Palestinian people.
An Israeli team met with U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice Monday to request $14 billion in continued aid to defray the costs of fighting terrorism and to bolster the country's economy. A new delegation is to return to Washington next week to formulate the details of the aid package, the Israeli newspaper Globe reported Thursday.
Arab League spokesman Hisham Youssef said Washington's position "raises many questions and causes worries."
Youssef said Washington instead should ban exporting some weapons that Israel has used against the Palestinian civilians.
"This U.S. stand appears like a reward to Israel for violating peace pledges and ignoring international resolutions," Youssef said. "Offering such assistance would further complicate the situation in the region."
Nabil Sha'th, minister of Planning and International Cooperation for the Palestinian National Authority, expressed similar sentiments Thursday in an interview with the Voice of Palestine.
"Any such (U.S.) support will be viewed as an award for all the aggression carried out by the Sharon government," Sha'th said. "It will be considered an award for Sharon against the Israeli peace camp, currently represented by (Labor Party candidate) Amram Mitzna."
Commenting on whether such assistance for Israel was needed to help in the fight against terrorism, Youssef said, "the Sept. 11 events affected many countries in the world, including those of the region," and noted, "the Palestinian economy was the one to have been particularly damaged by the Israeli aggressions and siege."
