US To Pay $2.2 Billion For Gaza Pullout?

According to a story on defensenews.com, Israel is asking for $2.2 billion in aid to assist with the removal & relocation of settlers from the Gaza Strip.

Israel will ask the United States for $2.2 billion, one of the largest aid requests by the Jewish state, to pay for its planned withdrawal from the occupied Gaza Strip, Israeli political sources said on July 11.

The special funding would be used to pay for the evacuation, slated to begin in mid-August, of all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza and four of 120 in the West Bank, and the relocation of the 9,000 settlers to underpopulated areas of Israel.

Asked about the aid request, a senior U.S. administration official said in Washington: “They have not asked for any money and we have not made any commitment to provide any.”

I'm told there are about 2,000 families affected by the pullout. That comes out to about $ million per family from the taxpayers. The families of the 9/11 victims got $100,000 each. And let's not mention the thousands of Palestinian families who were forced out of their homes over the years who never got a dime in US aid. Let's hope this administration official is correct, and US taxpayers will not pay for Israel’s mistakes.

On the other hand, the pullout didn't have to happen at all. The Israelis living in Gaza could have been offered the option of staying in their homes, and terminating their Israeli citizenship following the creation of a future Palestinian state and become Jewish citizens of Palestine.