Israel Asks U.S. for $1.2 Billion in Wye Accord Aid
By Barton Gellman,
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 24, 1998; Page A24
Israel is asking the Clinton administration for close to $1.2 billion in new
foreign aid to pay the costs of moving troops and installations in the
West Bank under an accord negotiated with the Palestinians last
month, according to officials from both countries.
Raised formally Sunday during a visit to Washington by Finance Minister
Yaacov Neeman, the Israeli request comes at a time when the Jewish state's
$3 billion in annual U.S. aid is being phased down by $60 million a year. It
would be the first substantial infusion of American cash to pay for an
Israeli-Palestinian agreement.
The U.S. government agreed during last month's Wye River summit to make a
major contribution toward Israel's cost of relinquishing about 13 percent of
the West Bank. It has not committed to a specific figure. Administration
officials said the government is positively disposed toward the Israeli
request and has begun to sound out Congress on support for a supplemental
appropriation.
Also expected in the supplemental request is an economic development package
for the Palestinians, which two officials estimated would be worth $400 million.
Washington is hosting an international donors conference for the Palestinians
beginning next Monday.
Administration officials emphasized that they have not finished reviewing
the funding proposals and have no final figures. State Department
spokesman James P. Rubin acknowledged Sunday's meeting between Neeman and
Undersecretary of State Stuart E. Eizenstat. The meeting included
Assistant Secretary of State Martin Indyk on the American side and
Maj. Gen. Ilan Biran, the Defense Ministry's director-general, on
the Israeli side.
"We indicated our intention to initiate consultations with Congress on an
enhanced -- that is bigger -- U.S. economic package in support to the
Palestinians to bolster Palestinian economic development and to strengthen
the prospects for successful implementation of the Wye agreement,"
Rubin said. "With respect to the figures being thrown out out there, I'm
not able to confirm any figures at this point."
Rubin declined to say whether Washington would allow U.S. funds to
be spent for construction of special roads for Jewish settlers on
the West Bank.
Under previous interim accords, Israel has withdrawn from 27 percent of
the West Bank and more than two-thirds of the Gaza Strip without special U.S.
assistance. Israel is now obliged to remove troops and facilities from
another 13 percent of the West Bank.
Some U.S. officials expressed skepticism about the scale of the Israeli
proposal, which one said "covers the costs of redeployment, with a
healthy tip." But even the skeptics said the administration and
Congress are likely to go along.
An Israeli official said that $1.2 billion "is probably less than half of
what the actual costs will be, according to our experts." It is no
longer possible, as it was before, to withdraw from largely unused
lands, the official said.
"We'll be moving a lot of military installations, including training
camps," the official said. "There's the security of the civilians living
there, and security involves a lot of things, not just
putting sandbags in the windows. It means how to get to places, how to get
away from places. It includes securing water supplies, and a lot of things
which relate to prevention of terrorist acts, both equipment and other
things."
Israel agreed under congressional pressure this year to cut its $1.2
billion a year in civilian economic aid by 10 percent a year. Half the
savings, or $60 million a year, will be added to Israel's annual military aid
package of $1.8 billion.
(c) Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
