Fine line

Israel is little more than a US client state, totally reliant on American government handouts. If this seems unnecessarily harsh, consider this. Israel is now asking for hundreds of millions of dollars to assist in August's proposed Gaza withdrawal. Israel already receives the greatest amount of US aid annually.

Israel is one of the world's largest arms providers. China is a regular customer. This upset the Americans, however, and they demanded the practice cease immediately. Israel hesitated and the US imposed trade sanctions on the Jewish state. This has been virtually ignored in the Western press. Israel relented in late June and sanctions will be lifted.

Israel is not an independent nation.