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Israel

Israel's Blockade of Gaza, the Mavi Marmara Incident, and Its Aftermath

Posted Wed, 06/16/2010 - 00:00

Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but retained control of its borders. Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections and later forcibly seized control of the territory in 2007. Israel imposed a tighter blockade on the flow of goods and materials into Gaza after its military offensive against Hamas from December 2008 to January 2009. That offensive destroyed much of Gaza's infrastructure, but Israel has obstructed the delivery of rebuilding materials that it said could also be used to manufacture weapons and for other military purposes.

U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel

Posted Fri, 12/04/2009 - 01:00

This report provides an overview of U.S. foreign assistance to Israel. It includes a review of past aid programs, data on annual assistance, and an analysis of current issues. The report will be updated annually to reflect developments over the previous year. For general information on Israel, see CRS Report RL33476, Israel: Background and Relations with the United States, by Carol Migdalovitz. For information on overall U.S. assistance to the Middle East, see CRS Report RL32260, U.S.

Israeli-Arab Negotiations: Background, Conflicts, and U.S. Policy

Posted Wed, 08/12/2009 - 00:00

After the first Gulf war, in 1991, a new peace process consisting of bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon achieved mixed results.

U.S. Security Assistance to the Palestinian Authority

Posted Wed, 06/24/2009 - 00:00

Since shortly after the establishment of limited Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the mid-1990s, the United States has periodically provided assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for civil security and counterterrorism purposes. Following the death of Yasser Arafat in late 2004 and the election of Mahmoud Abbas as his successor as PA President in early 2005, then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice created the office of U.S.

Lebanon: Background and U.S. Relations

Posted Wed, 06/17/2009 - 00:00

Lebanon is a religiously diverse, democratic state transitioning toward independence after a
ruinous civil war and the Syrian and Israeli occupations that followed. The United States and
Lebanon have historically enjoyed a good relationship due in part to cultural and religious ties;
the democratic character of the state; a large, Lebanese-American community in the United
States; and the pro-western orientation of Lebanon, particularly during the Cold War. Current
U.S.

Israel and Hamas: Conflict in Gaza (2008-2009)

Posted Thu, 03/19/2009 - 00:00

On December 27, 2008, Israel launched a major military campaign dubbed ?Operation Cast
Lead? against the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip in order to counter
Palestinian rocket fire and, more broadly, to significantly weaken all aspects of Hamas rule in
Gaza. On January 3, 2009, Israel began a ground offensive into Gaza intended to eliminate
Hamas?s willingness or capability to launch rockets at Israeli towns and cities.