- An inter-ministerial team headed by Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon's bureau chief, Dov Weisglass, is working on a proposal requesting
American economic assistance that could top $10 billion.
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- The team includes representatives from the treasury,
the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry.
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- A government source said the reason for the aid request
stems from the United States' expected campaign against Iraq coupled with
the American desire that Israel not interfere with Washington's plans or
use IDF troops against Iraq.
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- Sources at the Prime Minister's Office said yesterday
that American readiness to provide economic assistance has not been made
in concrete terms.
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- However, a number of ideas have cropped up in Jerusalem
over the type of aid Israel could use: cash, guarantees for low-interest
bank loans from American banks, direct state-to-state loans from the U.S.
treasury, and the conversion of some American defense aid into shekels.
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- Currently, Washington provides Israel $2.1 billion a
year that must be spent in the United States on defense supplies. One proposal
is for $2 billion to be converted to shekels and used to purchase defense
equipment from Israeli manufacturers in the hope that it would invigorate
the Israeli economy.
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- The final proposal will be worked out by the inter-ministerial
committee and the White House.
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- Discussions about economic aid came up during the prime
minister's recent trip to Washington, and, in particular, during talks
between Weisglass and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.
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- Weisglass said the aid was necessary to get the Israeli
economy moving; U.S. President George W. Bush mentioned American confidence
in Israel's economy during a White House press conference with Sharon after
their meeting last week.
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- Other than the annual economic aid, Israel expects fulfillment
of a July 2000 decision made by then-president Bill Clinton to then-premier
Ehud Barak for a $800 million grant. Since then, the sum has dropped to
$200 million, and discussions were frozen, for bureaucratic reasons, after
Clinton left office, according to the Americans. But with help of pro-Israel
congressmen, discussions are expected to resume at the beginning of the
new year.
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- http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemN
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