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U.S. Amb. Friedman: We've Thrown $10 Billion at Palestinians; Peace Isn't a Millimeter Closer
(Times of Israel-Jerusalem Post) U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, speaking Tuesday at a reception to mark the Jewish New Year, said, "Since 1994, the United States has thrown more than $10 billion in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians....We found that these expenditures were bringing the region no closer to peace or stability, not even by a millimeter. To spend hard-earned taxpayer dollars to fund stipends to terrorists and their families, to expend funds to perpetuate rather than to mitigate refugee status, and to finance hate-filled textbooks - I ask you, how does that provide value to the United States or the region?" The U.S., he said, is "not in the business of, as they say, throwing good money after bad." "Make no mistake, the USA is a generous nation and we would truly love to invest in this region for the return on investment of peace and stability in Israel and a better quality of life for the Palestinians. Indeed, we continue to provide 40% of the funding for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. UNHCR, in contrast to UNRWA, seeks to end statelessness, not deploy it as a political weapon." Regarding Iran, he said, "We are beginning to see encouraging signs that the Iranian enterprise - the world's principal state sponsor of terrorism and an enemy that publicly vows to destroy Israel - is under extraordinary pressure....With every new day there's a growing basis for optimism. The pressure on Iran will continue to mount, and I am confident that this enemy - the great challenge of our generation - will enter the dustbin of history among the other evildoers who have threatened the U.S. and Israel in the past."