Ha'aretz, January 7, 2000
Full asking price for peace aid: $65 billion
By Ze'ev Schiff, Ha'aretz Military Editor
Israel will ask the United States for between $65 and $70 billion to cover the cost of
the withdrawals and the other expenses entailed in the peace agreements.
The amount of $17.4 billion, which has been cited in the past few days, is only one
clause in the Israeli bill, which relates to the security expenditures in connection with
a withdrawal from the Golan Heights and an agreement with Syria. This amount does not even
include the security outlays for the agreement with the Palestinians and the withdrawal
from Judea and Samaria.
The large amount includes important clauses related to the evacuation of Israeli
settlements, stabilization of the water system and the establishment of desalination
plants, and more. It does not contain clauses related to assistance in solving the refugee
problem. On these issues, the Palestinians and the Jordanians are likely to submit
separate aid requests.
No discussions have as yet been held with the Americans on the large sums, but the
subject has been considered by various forums in Israel. One of the internal guidelines
was to avoid presenting bloated requests and not to stun the Americans. Another guideline
was that on issues where the Arabs can request aid, an effort would be made to have them
do so - for example, to establish sea water desalination facilities for the Palestinians.
The requests to Washington will be made in stages as the need arises.
So far in talks with the Americans, the only aid clause that has been put forward in
detail is that of the security expenditures in connection with a withdrawal from the Golan
and a treaty with Syria. That list was drawn up in the defense establishment together with
the IDF. One meeting was held in Washington between the Israeli delegation, led by the
Defense Ministry director-general, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amos Yaron, and representatives of the
Pentagon and the State Department. The administration has set up a special team to deal
with the subject, which includes representatives from the National Security Council in
addition to the Pentagon and the State Department. Another meeting is due to be held next
week, also in Washington, at which time the Israeli delegation will also meet with the
deputy secretary of defense.
In the first meeting the Israeli side submitted documents that include a list of
security outlays totaling $17.4 billion related to a withdrawal from the Golan Heights. It
was emphasized that this was an initial assessment and that changes might be introduced in
the future. The American officials heard out the Israelis without responding. However, in
informal discussions they said that, in their view, Washington should not have to bear the
entire financial burden of the peace agreements. The European Union and Japan will
undoubtedly also take part in meeting the prodigious expenses involved. The Americans also
expect Arab states in the Gulf to contribute handsomely in the form of aid to Syria,
Jordan and the Palestinians.
The Israeli list contains five main clauses. One of the most important of them entails
the evacuation of military camps and facilities and their redeployment in Israel. The
expenditure here totals about $3.5 billion. This clause covers the evacuation of about 40
military camps, facilities and sites, including the evacuation of divisional and brigade
headquarters and logistics and intelligence facilities and their transfer to Israel.
The second clause, intelligence and early warning, also comes to about $3.5 billion and
includes three advanced radar aircraft and satellite communications capability. The third
clause, defense against missiles, involves expenditures of some $2 billion. As part of
this clause Israel is seeking Tomahawk cruise missiles, as first reported in Ha'aretz.
Also listed in this clause is aid to purchase hundreds of Arrow anti-missile missiles.
The fourth clause has a price tag of $8.5 billion and involves upgrading Israel's
defensive capability in the wake of a withdrawal from the Golan Heights. Among other
acquisitions, Israel would get two additional squadrons of Apache helicopters and
stand-off weapons of various kinds. The defense establishment also included a fifth clause
dealing with procurements for the Air Force and for the ground forces, including cargo
planes, as well as the continued development of the Nautilus system which is meant to use
laser beams to intercept Katyusha rockets
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Source:
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