Annually, the US grants Israel $2 billion worth of military assistance through the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and Economic Support Fund (ESF), making Israel the strongest in the region and the largest recipient of US foreign aid. Already, Israel has one of the most sophisticated, well-equipped, and best-trained army in the world, overshadowing those of its neighbors, whose military funds have decreased during the 1990s. Its annual military expenditures are consistently 2 to 3 times as high as those of other countries involved in Arab-Israeli conflict and leads the region in the number of heavy weapons holdings, armored infantry vehicles, air planes and heavy tanks, outpacing Iraq, Iran, Syria and Lebanon in all of the major categories of arms spending. Israel also maintains nuclear weapons and the capability to use them. These were the same charges against Iraq that resulted to more than a decade of sanctions against the country. If the US is indeed sincere in putting an end to the creation of weapons of mass destruction, why does it allow Israel to violate international laws? The US should be consistent in its stand against the creation of weapons of mass destruction and penalize Israel for its defiance.

In 1999, Israel became the world’s fifth-largest importer of major weapons and the world’s sixth-largest exporter of arms and military technology, with billions of dollars of sales to 61 countries, including China, a potential threat to the United States. Israel is the only country in the Middle East to both develop and produce its own surface-to-surface missiles, combat aircraft, and tanks. Along with this is its superior technology and capabilities in communications, intelligence gathering, logistics, training, organization, maintenance and mobility. This enables Israel to exert its will over Palestine. The continued occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the expansion of settlements, and the building of exclusive roads and security checkpoints to establish permanent control over Palestinian territory are clear violations of the international law. Despite these, the United States is yet to reprimand Israel for its illegal activities. This further taints the credibility of US to be a mediator between the two countries (Israel and Palestine).

Over the years, there has been a steady decline in the standards of living among the Palestinians. It is presently among the worst in the world. A growing trade and budget deficit are imminent. The unemployment rate is at a staggering 50 percent, the overall health condition has deteriorated, and poverty rate has soared. Access to potable water is also being controlled by Israel, hampering the economic development of the country that is dependent on agricultural production. The misery brought about by the abuses committed by the Israelis toward the Palestinians had resulted to the popular support for extremist groups like Islamic Jihad and Hamas, the group responsible for the suicide bombing of a bus in a Jewish settlement, which killed several Israelis. The Israeli and the US government has been pressuring Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to arrest the extremists. There have been several instances where direct attacks have been launched against the government infrastructures of Palestine. But these further weaken the ability of Arafat to control the actions of the extremists. Despite the military supremacy that Israel has over Palestine, its people will never be safe against the extremists of Palestine and other Arab countries. These people no longer believe in the peaceful resolution that the United States has been promoting and have decided to resort to violence instead. No amount of military technology could protect Israel against a group of people that considers bombing as an act of allegiance to God.

In order to promote peace in the region, the underlying causes of the conflict should be addressed. Some organizations are calling for the demilitarization of Israel in order to pave the way for a sincere negotiation. It is quite logical, for peaceful negotiation and arms race just don’t go together. A country that considers itself powerful enough to wipe out another country would never agree to sit down the negotiating table. If this were to be followed, the US should first be kicked out of its position as the mediator between the two countries because it is really not keen in bringing peace in the war-torn region. The peace process that it has been promoting is a mere put-on. It has deliberately supplied Israel with the weapons of mass destruction to gain a stronghold in the Middle East. At the moment, there is a talk of an all-out war between the two countries. If these were to happen, blood will be spilled and there would be no one else to blame but the United States of America, the so-called promoter of peace.