[Ha'aretz] Barak Ravid - The new $30 billion American defense package for Israel is not conditioned on diplomatic progress or concessions to the Palestinians, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Thursday as representatives from both countries signed the memorandum of understanding in Jerusalem. Burns said the aid to Israel was meant to counter "an axis of cooperation between Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas that is responsible for the violence in the region." "A strong and secure Israel is an American interest," he said. "There is no question that...the Middle East is a more dangerous region now even than it was 10 or 20 years ago and that Israel is facing a growing threat."
2007-08-17 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive