The U.S. House of Representatives last week advanced legislation aimed at pressuring Egypt to improve its human rights record by withholding some military aid until progress is made. Meanwhile, Israel was approved for $2.4 billion — all of it in military aid, which by law must be spent in the United States. Israel has not received foreign aid grants for the past decade.
For Egypt, members of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee allocated $415 million in economic aid and $1.3 billion in military aid. Of the military aid, however, $200 million will not be disbursed without special certification by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She will have to certify that President Hosni Mubarak’s government is acting to improve the judicial system by giving judges more independence; make the police less abusive toward the Egyptians; and move against people smuggling weapons into Gaza.
“I think all of us have tremendous appreciation for the role that Egypt has played through the years trying to promote reasonable relations in the Middle East,” Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey said. “But I am especially pained by the fact that in the past few years the human rights situation in Egypt has precipitately declined.”
For Egypt, members of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee allocated $415 million in economic aid and $1.3 billion in military aid. Of the military aid, however, $200 million will not be disbursed without special certification by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She will have to certify that President Hosni Mubarak’s government is acting to improve the judicial system by giving judges more independence; make the police less abusive toward the Egyptians; and move against people smuggling weapons into Gaza.
“I think all of us have tremendous appreciation for the role that Egypt has played through the years trying to promote reasonable relations in the Middle East,” Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey said. “But I am especially pained by the fact that in the past few years the human rights situation in Egypt has precipitately declined.”