Transcripts: Money to Palestine, Economic Pressure on Israel?

On Friday, the U.S. State Department stated that $200 million, as part of a $900 million pledge from March, was on the way to the Palestinian Authority. On the same day, Deputy State Department spokesman Robert Wood said, "It's premature to talk about imposing economic sanctions on Israel."

So could this really be a new American economic approach to carrots-and-sticks on Israel and Palestine? There is no problem with the $900 million pledge to Palestine but there may be a problem on the 2007 Memorandum on Understanding calling for $30 billion. over 10 years, to Israel?

The Statement on Direct Budget Assistance to the Palestinian Authority:

The United States is the leading provider of bilateral economic and development aid to the Palestinians, providing an estimated $2.5 billion through USAID since 1993. The $200 million in direct budget assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) that the Secretary announced July 24 represents the single largest transfer of budget support to the PA from any country since its inception. It is a part of the $900 million pledge for 2009 that the Secretary announced at the March 2 donors’ conference in Sharm al-Sheikh to address the immediate needs of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and support our longer-term approach of fostering the conditions in which a Palestinian state can be realized.

The United States is committed to improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza. In 2009, the United States has provided more than $72 million to date in humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza through the United Nations Consolidated Appeal (CAP) and other partner organizations.

In 2008, the U.S. was the single largest national donor to the Palestinian Authority. The U.S. exceeded its Paris Donors’ Conference pledge of $555 million (December 2007), committing more than $600 million in assistance to the PA in calendar year 2008, including:

· $239 million for activities in economic growth, democracy and governance, food assistance, education, health, and water supply to the PA.

· An additional $300 million in direct budget support to the PA for debt owed to commercial vendors and financial institutions.

· $75 million for security sector reform.

In addition, in fiscal year 2008 the U.S. provided $184.7 million in Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) and Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) funds to United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for assistance to Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.

Robert Wood's statement:

QUESTION: Would U.S. be ready to exert some financial pressures on Israel to convince the government to stop settlements?

MR. WOOD: Well, Sylvie, it’s premature to talk about that. What we’re trying to do, as I said, right now is to create an environment which makes it conducive for talks to go forward. And as I said, Senator Mitchell is working very hard on this. And what we all need to do in the international community is support this effort, and that means Americans, that means Arabs and Israelis, to do what they can to kind of foster a climate in which the two sides can come together and negotiate their differences peacefully so that we can get to that two-state solution.

QUESTION: But Robert --

MR. WOOD: Yes.

QUESTION: Dan Meridor has said – that the agreement we had with the Americans is binding on us and them. And he added that they should keep to the agreement. He’s calling the U.S. to keep to the agreement.

MR. WOOD: I think we’ve been very clear with regard to settlements. They need to stop, and that includes natural growth. I don’t have anything more to add to that. The Israelis are well aware of our position. And we’ll obviously continue to have talks with the Israelis on this subject and other issues, but our policy remains the same.

Reactions to Jakarta Bombings from the Rest of the World

After the detonation of two bombs in Jakarta, reactions are coming in from the rest of the world.

The U.S. President Barack Obama said:

I strongly condemn the attacks that occurred this morning in Jakarta, and extend my deepest condolences to all of the victims and their loved ones.

Indonesia has been steadfast in combating violent extremism, and has successfully curbed terrorist activity within its borders. However, these attacks make it clear that extremists remain committed to murdering innocent men, women and children of any faith in all countries. We will continue to partner with Indonesia to eliminate the threat from these violent extremists, and we will be unwavering in supporting a future of security and opportunity for the Indonesian people.

The American people stand by the Indonesian people in this difficult time, and the U.S. government stands ready to help the Indonesian government respond to and recover from these outrageous attacks as a friend and partner.

The Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said:

Our sympathies go out to the victims of these tragic attacks, their families, and the people and government of Indonesia. We condemn these senseless acts of violence and stand ready to provide assistance if the Indonesian government requests us to do so. The State Department is working to help American citizens injured in the blasts.

The attacks reflect the viciousness of violent extremists, and remind us that the threat of terrorism remains very real. We have no higher priority than confronting this threat along with other countries that share our commitment to a more peaceful and prosperous future.

European Union High Representative Javier Solana said:

I strongly condemn this morning's bomb attacks in Jakarta that have claimed innocent lives and injured many more. This was also an attack on Indonesia and the Indonesian people's attachment to democracy

The EU stands with the people and the government of Indonesia as they work to bring those responsible for this cowardly act of terror to justice. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims, and we wish a speedy recovery to those injured

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said:

It is an act of murder. It is a barbaric act that violates the fundamental principles of human decency

British Charge D'Affaires Matthew Rous said:

The British people deplore terrorism in all its forms. We stand resolutely beside our friends in Indonesia at this difficult time

Iran: How Strong is the G8 Statement on the Nuclear Programme?

The Latest from Iran (10 July): What Next?

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After ""L’Aquila Statement on Non-Proliferation Declaration"": it's a long name for the G8's balancing act on the Iranian nuclear programme. This is a diplomatic document seeking common ground through careful language: "We reiterate our unanimous commitment to working for a comprehensive, peaceful and diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and strongly support ongoing efforts to resolve it through negotiations."

The Statement continued:

We urge Iran to use the present window of opportunity for engagement with the international community in a spirit of mutual respect and to respond positively to the offers advanced, in order to find a negotiated solution which will address Iran’s interest as well as the international community concerns. While recognizing once again that Iran has the right to a civilian nuclear program under the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty], we stress that Iran has the responsibility, as reiterated by UNSC Resolutions, to restore confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear activities, allowing for the establishment of a fruitful and wide-ranging cooperation with the G8 and other countries.

The proliferation risks posed by Iran’s nuclear program continue to be a matter of serious concern. We urge Iran to comply with the relevant UNSC [United Nations Security Council] Resolutions and to fully cooperate with the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] by providing the Agency such access and information that it requests to resolve the issues raised in the IAEA Director General’s Reports.

President Obama offered a suitably-worded interpretation to wag a finger at Tehran:

Now, we face a real-time challenge on nuclear proliferation in Iran. And at this summit, the G8 nations came together to issue a strong statement calling on Iran to fulfill its responsibilities to the international community without further delay. We remain seriously concerned about the appalling events surrounding the presidential election. And we're deeply troubled by the proliferation risks Iran's nuclear program poses to the world.

Others in the Obama Administration were willing to be even starker in their portrayal of the threat. A day before the release of the Statement, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen, spoke to the Center for Strategic and International Studies:

I believe Iran is very focused on developing this capability, and I think when they get it, or should they get it, it will be very destabilizing.

The very same day, along with Mullen's self-confident speech, the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated that Tehran's acquisition of nuclear weapons would be a destabilizing factor in the region and said that the United States would call for "even stricter sanctions on Iran to try to change the behavior of the regime."

However, on Wednesday, a more careful message came from the French President Nicholas Sarkozy. On one hand, he warned Tel Aviv not to attack Tehran as this would be an "absolute catastrophe". On the other hand, he reassured, "Israel should know that it is not alone and look at all this calm. If I have fought so hard in the name of France to get people talking about Iran it's also a message to the Israelis that they are not alone," and delivered a deadline to Tehran: "If no progress is made, leaders will reach new decisions at a G20 economic summit in Pittsburgh in late September."

So it's not the statement of the G-8 Summit that poses the questions over future relations with Iran. Those are in the post-summit positions now being considered in Washington and Paris, not to mention Moscow and Beijing.