Why is Israels alliance important to the United States?

Question

First off, this question is based explicitly on curiosity. I believe Israel is a great ally of the United States, I am just curious to hear some economical, religious, and national security benefits that Israel's alliance offers the United States.

Also, can someone explain to me why people tell me Israel is actually at fault when it comes to the Israel/Palestinian unrest? I am under the impression that the Palestine government basically supports terrorism against Israel; is this true?

Please enlighten me!

Thanks

Answer 1

The Palestinian Authority, the putative Palestinian government, does not support terrorism against Israel.  

As far as the reason Israel is at fault for the unrest, since Israel conquered the Palestinian territories in 1967, it has imposed a harsh military regime on the Palestinians living there:

- It requires various permits from Palestinians to so much as live in their homes (in this way it barred the return home of Palestinians who happened to be abroad when Israel conquered the territories, for example, Palestinian students at foreign universities) Permits are required to build, to dig new wells, to develop land.  Such permits are routinely be denied to Palestinians, and when they build for their families anyway, it demolishes those homes, while Jews are allowed to build and if they don't have permits they're generally issued afterwards

- Palestinians can be jailed for any expression of opposition to Israel such as displaying the Palestinian colors or conducting peaceful protest,

- Israel has confiscated more land much of it privately owned by Palestinians, and often of the pretext was required for "security and then built Jewish-only settlements on it.

- Israel has collected taxes from Palestinian workers without providing any of the benefits

- Some of the Jewish settlers are fanatics believing in the biblical pronunciations that God gave the land to them, and routinely harrass, vandalize and commit pogroms against Palestinians, occasionally freely murdering them, all this with the protection of Israeli soldiers,

- Israeli settlers in the occupied territories are allotted 4 times the amount of water the average Palestinian is allowed.  Palestinians are allotted less than what is considered the minimum requirement for health by the WHO, on average, while settlers use water for landscaping and swimming pools.

- Israeli soldiers have been known to shoot Palestinian kids for sport

- It has been building a wall in the occupied territories, cutting off access of farmers from their land, confiscatign in some places enclosing towns or villages with a 25-foot concrete wall

- It has some 500 checkpoints in the occupied territories, requiring permits for Palestinians to move from one part of the occupied territories to another, often preventing access to schools, hospitals, places of work, markets, and relatives.  It routinely closes ALL the checkpoints during Jewish holidays or imposes round-the-clock curfews.

- Israeli military policy allows for arrest and indefinate incarceration without trial of Palestinians, and in military courts in which Palestinians are tried evidence obtained under torture has been routinely used, Israeli judges routinely take an Israeli soldier's word, in short, its a mockery of justice.

Bear in mind, a lot of this especially the land confiscation, terrorism by Israelis and torture and arrest for even displaying the Palestinian colors were Israeli practices before any large amount of Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians were eminating from the occupied territories - attacks in large numbers only started in 2000, after Ariel Sharon made his infamous visit to lay claim to the al-Aqsa mosque accompanied by hundreds of Israeli troops, and after Israelis killed dozens of Palestinians who protested.  Bear in mind, also, that Ariel Sharon was personally responsible for several mass killings of helpless civilians.

When you add this to the ethnic cleansing by which Israel was founded, I'm not sure where you get the impression that the Palestine government supports terrorism.  I hope you will enlighten me particularly on the religious benifits of being allied with a state that was founded on and continues to commit ethnic cleansing?  Or the economic benefits of giving this country 3 billion/year?  Or the national security benefit of being allied with a country that has angered so many people by invading their countries and bombing them?