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Analyst: US aid to Israel will worsen Mideast conflict

An Israeli guard loads teargas canisters on a military vehicle during clashes with Palestinian youths in the village of al-Ram, between Jerusalem (al-Quds) and Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, on October 22, 2015. (AFP photo)

Press TV has interviewed Mike Gravel, a former US senator in San Francisco, about Israel seeking a large increase in its annual military assistance from the United States.

Following is a full transcription of the interview.

Press TV: How do you feel about Israel’s request?

Gravel: How do I feel? I am flat embarrassed as an American that we have to pay bounty to Israel so they continue their apartheid policies. It is just totally unreasonable. We have been paying them millions and millions of dollars over the years. If the average American citizen knew how we are financing this apartheid government to be able to persecute the people in Gaza and West Bank, they would be horrified. But because the media is controlled by AIPAC and the corporations, they are able to do this kind of activity without being discovered. But I think that will end.

Slowly, Americans are becoming adjusted to the apartheid policy and many governments in Europe are working to disenfranchise or to stop the investments in Israel, both at the university level and otherwise. So this conflict is going to get worse and this extra two billion dollars which is nothing but bribery because of the peace deal we made with Iran is absolutely ridiculous.

Press TV: The argument goes that America needs Israel to be militarily stronger than anybody else in the region. How do you think and how do you feel about that?

Gravel: Well, that jibes with the effort in the United States to want to be stronger than anybody else. And so Israel, since it is our close ally in that regard, then it is question of military might over reason and economic development. And so, this is not going to Israel for economic development. This is going to Israel to shore up our military presence in the area.  

 


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