IB82008
Israeli-United States Relations
April 28, 2005

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Summary

Israeli-U.S. relations are an important factor in U.S. policy in the Middle East, and Congress has placed considerable emphasis on the maintenance of a close and supportive relationship. The main vehicle for expressing support for Israel has been foreign aid; Israel currently receives about $3 billion per year in economic and military grants, refugee settlement assistance, and other aid. Congress has monitored aid closely along with other issues in bilateral relations, and its concerns have affected Administration's policies. U.S.-Israeli relations have evolved from an initial American policy of sympathy and support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in 1948 to an unusual partnership that links a small but militarily powerful Israel, dependent on the United States for its economic and military strength, with the U.S. superpower trying to balance competing interests in the region. Some in the United States question the levels of aid and general commitment to Israel, and argue that a U.S. bias toward Israel operates at the expense of improved U.S. relations with various Arab states. Others maintain that democratic Israel is a strategic ally; they further argue that U.S. relations with Israel strengthens the U.S. presence in the Middle East. The United States fully supported the Israeli-PLO Declaration of Principles signed in Washington on September 13, 1993, and the follow-up agreements in May 1994, September 1995, the Hebron agreement of January 15, 1997, and the Wye agreement of October 23, 1998, mediated by President Clinton. The United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia sponsor the three-phase "Road Map" peace process, introduced in 2003, but still not implemented by the Israelis and Palestinians. The United States has provided on average $3 billion in foreign aid to Israel each year since 1985. Under an Israeli-U.S. agreement, economic assistance is being phased out and military aid is being increased. H.R. 4818, the FY2005 foreign operations appropriations bill, provided Israel with $2.202 billion in military aid and $357 million in economic assistance. See also CRS Issue Brief IB85066, Israel: U.S. Foreign Assistance; CRS Issue Brief IB91137, The Middle East Peace Talks; CRS Report RS22000, Israel's Proposal to Withdraw from Gaza; and CRS Report RS21564, Israel's Security Fences, Separating Israel from the Palestinians.

    Related Legislation:
  • H.R.4818
  • S.2200
  • S.2156

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