ISRAEL

Yahoo News: U.S. Economic Aid Found to Subsidize More than Half of Israeli Settlements Costs

WASHINGTON, D.C. Jan 24 (OW-US) - The Israeli government spent well
over US$533 million in sustaining Jewish settlements in the occupied
territories in 2001, more than half the amount provided it by the United States as
direct economic assistance during the same year, according to a report
released Thursday by the Israeli Peace Now movement. The report, which
was based on publicly available data, said that the total amount of
government support for the settlements in the Gaza Strip (news - web sites ) and
West Bank, including the costs of providing military protection for the
settlers, is actually significantly higher. But how much higher cannot
be determined because a breakdown of the defense budget, for example, is a
state secret.