Continued robust U.S. assistance for Israel sends an important signal of U.S. support for and solidarity with Israel. The longstanding ban on the use of U.S. assistance to support settlement activities - reflecting U.S. recognition that settlements are a threat to Israel's security and viability as a Jewish state and a democracy - also sends an important signal of U.S. disapproval of Israel's settlement policies.

U.S. assistance is also vital, in real and symbolic terms, in preparing the ground for any future Israeli-Arab peace agreement. It should be recalled that U.S. assistance for Israel (and Egypt) was a key element of the Camp David Accords, which gave birth to an historic peace agreement that has stood the test of time.

Any future peace agreement with the Palestinians, Syria, or the Arab world will require Israel to take serious, calculated risks. It is in no small part the strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship, as embodied in U.S. financial support for Israel, which has provided Israelis the confidence to take such risks thus far, and will reassure them in similar decision-making in the future.

APN supports continued robust U.S. assistance to Israel, with the continued requirement that no U.S. assistance be used to support settlement-related activities in the West Bank. APN also believes Congress should demand greater accountability regarding Israel's expenditures on settlements, including reporting from the State Department on the amount of funds Israel is expanding annually across the Green Line to support and expand Israeli residential development.

(Feb. 2011)