General Electric Caught Supporting Illegal Israeli Settlement Expansion on Stolen Palestinian Lands

Abu Sha'ar Slams General Electric for Supporting Illegal Israeli Settlement Expansion

[ 09/12/2010 - 01:30 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Palestinian minister of religious affairs Dr. Taleb Abu Sha'ar strongly denounced the American company General Electric for supporting and participating in an illegal Israeli settlement project in Abu Ghunaim Mount between occupied Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Dr. Abu Sha'ar in a press release on Thursday said that this company in cooperation with Ligon company took part in the establishment of a waste water treatment facility in Abu Ghunaim area at a cost of about 30 million shekels.

The minister expressed his strong dismay at the collusion which General Electric is involved in, stressing that this company violated the international law when it took such step and reflected its hostility to the Palestinians.

In another incident, Israeli press sources reported that the US earmarked two hundred million dollars to finance the Israeli anti-missile system known as the Iron Dome which is intended to intercept any projectiles, missiles or rockets fired at Israel in the future.

The US house of representatives approved this financial grant on Wednesday, according to the sources.

US House votes for Israel missile defense aid

Published today (updated) 09/12/2010 14:07

WASHINGTON (AFP) Maan --

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved more than 200 million dollars to help Israel deploy a short-range anti-missile defense system called "Iron Dome."

The money was included in a catch-all spending bill covering government expenses in the fiscal year that began October 1, which cleared the House by a 212-206 margin and now heads to the Senate.

"This is only the latest example that when it comes to defense, military, and intelligence cooperation, the relationship between the US and Israel has never been stronger," said Democratic Representative Steve Rothman.

Israel completed tests in January on its Iron Dome system, designed to intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells fired at Israel by Hamas and Hezbollah.

The next phase is to integrate the system into the army. Israel hopes the Iron Dome will help counter rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and from Lebanon.

Palestinian militants have fired thousands of home-made rockets into southern Israel, prompting Israel's devastating assault on the Islamist Hamas in Gaza on December 27, 2008.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah also fired some 4,000 rockets into northern Israel during a 2006 war with Israel. The group is believed to have an arsenal of some 40,000 rockets.

"This funding sends a strong message, to both our enemies and allies, by providing more total dollars than ever before toward these rocket and missile defense programs," said Rothman, a key backer of the funding.

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