US Tax-exempts Aid Illegal Israeli Settlements

Press TV, Tuesday, 06 July 2010 09:48:09 GMT

Charity tax-exempts in the US reportedly fund illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Charity tax-exempts in the US fund aid to illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank in clear contrast to President Barak Obama's Mideast peace plan.

According to a report published in New York Times on Monday, many groups in the United States use tax-exempt donations to help Israelis establish permanence in occupied Palestinian territories.

The report has identified at least 40 American groups that have collected over $200 million in tax-deductible gifts for Israeli settlement in the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) over the last decade alone.

Despite claims that the money goes to Jewish religious and educational facilities, it is believed that the sums are mainly used to enforce paramilitary activities against Palestinians living in the Israeli-occupied regions.

The American funds also support projects that focus on the judaization of al-Quds, and back Jewish campaigns which resist a freeze on illegal settlement construction in the West Bank.

One of these campaigns known as "Price Tag" engages in violent actions against Palestinians with the slogan: "For every move by Israeli authorities to curtail settlement construction, the price will be an attack on an Arab mosque, vineyard or olive grove."

Interestingly, many contributions also go to large, established settlements close to Israel's boundary that would very likely be annexed in any possible future peace deal, the report said.

This is while under the US tax law, the use of charity funds for political purposes at home or abroad are prohibited.

This unrelenting support for the illegal Israeli settlement expansions in the West Bank has effectively obstructed the creation of a Palestinian state, seen as a necessary condition for the Obama administration's Middle East policy.

"Settlements violate international law, and the United States is supposed to be sponsoring a two-state solution, yet it gives deductions for donation to the settlements?" the New York Times quoted chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat as saying.

The report comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in Washington for talks with US President Barack Obama, where they are expected to discuss the controversial settlements issue.

The meeting could also serve as a strong push to re-launch direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians which have been stalled since Tel Aviv waged a deadly 22-day war on the Gaza Strip in late 2008.

FF/MRS

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