Acting Minister of Finance Ehud Olmert said yesterday in Washington that Israel expected to receive the entire special US aid package for developing the Negev and the Galilee in fiscal 2006, regardless of the amount of aid. Olmert was talking with Israeli reporters following his meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. It had previously been estimated that the planned US aid would be spread over four years, but Olmert said, “The aid package is intended to be part of the budget for fiscal 2006, both for us and the US.”
The US fiscal year begins on October 1, and both houses of Congress have already approved the 2006 budget. The budget includes $2.28 billion in military aid to Israel and $240 million in civilian aid, but contains no item relating to special aid for developing the Negev and the Galilee.
Washington sources said that the Bush administration was expected to submit a supplementary budget proposal, including special aid to Israel, in early 2006. The proposal will probably also include items for Afghanistan and Iraq. If this happens, Israel will be able to receive all its special aid in fiscal 2006, provided that Congress approves it.
Asked whether he believed that Israel would receive special aid, Olmert said, “I believe we’ll get the aid for the purposes we formulated: developing the Negev and the Galilee. Given US commitments, including an April 14 letter from President George W. Bush to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and subsequent understandings, I would regard it as very strange if we didn’t get the aid. I’m convinced that the process by which such things happen has started moving, and I see no reason why we shouldn’t get the aid.”
Olmert noted that in his talk with Rice, he had mentioned no total for the aid Israel was requesting, nor had he discussed specific projects for development of the Negev and the Galilee. He added that they had discussed the two areas in general. “Rice expressed enormous interest in development of the Negev and the Galilee,” Olmert said. “She remembered, and mentioned, Bush’s commitment to develop them.”
Olmert also said that in the next two weeks, the Israeli team of Ministry of Finance director general Joseph Bachar and Prime Minister’s Office director general Ilan Cohen would be sent to Washington for negotiations on the aid package and to complete a list of projects for developing the Negev and the Galilee.
Olmert stated that there was “absolute agreement” between Israel and the US about continuing the peace process. “The US is outlining the way according to the road map, as we are and I told Rice this. The road map is the basis,” he said.
Olmert said that it would be difficult to expect dramatic developments in Israeli-Palestinian relations in the next 3-4 months. The Israeli government has to prepare for the next Knesset session, and the Palestinians will be preparing for elections in January.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on August 25, 2005