The US General Accounting Office (GAO) has begun an investigation into American military aid programs in the Middle East, following a complaint filed by a lawmaker regarding Israel's use of US-made F-16 warplanes against Palestinian targets, reported Haaretz newspaper on Thursday.
A spokesman for the GAO, a Congressional agency, confirmed that an investigation was indeed underway and that it was still in the early stages.
The GAO fulfills a dual function for the US Congress: It provides lawmakers with data in order to assist them in their legislative tasks, and also carries out investigations, at the request of congressmen, into the functioning of the government and its agencies.
The investigation began following a request by Rep. John Conyers Jr., Democrat from Michigan, said Haaretz, adding that the results of the probe would be presented to him when it was completed. The findings will also be made public by the GAO.
In a letter to President George W. Bush last week, Conyers informed him of his request for an investigation, stressing the fact that he considers it paramount that all sides in the Middle East comply with the rules regulating the use of American-made weapons sold in the region.
According to the terms of the sale of the F-16 fighters to Israel, the US limits their use for the purpose of "legitimate defense."
Conyers argued that the bombing of Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip and Ramallah on May 18, which the Israel army carried out with F-16s, “diverged from the terms under which the aircraft were sold.”
US Vice President Dick Cheney said last May that Israel should halt the use of US-built F-16 warplanes for attacks.
When asked if Israel should stop using F-16s, Cheney replied, "Yeah, I think they should stop, both sides should stop and think about where they are headed here."
Israel deployed the F-16s for the first time since the 1967 Middle East war, in "retaliation" for a suicide bomber from the militant Hamas movement who killed six people, including himself, at a shopping mall in the seaside Israeli city of Netanya on May 18.
Hours later, Israeli F-16s struck Palestinian security compounds in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, killing at least 12 Palestinian policemen and raising Israeli attacks to a new level.
According to Haaretz, the decision to embark on an investigation followed an initial examination showing that no other government agency had carried out a similar probe, and that it was within the jurisdiction of the GAO to carry out such assignment.
The Israeli embassy spokesman in Washington, Mark Regev, said in response to the announcement of the probe that the Israeli attack came in response to Palestinian “violence,” and that it was a clear act of “self-defense.”
Two weeks ago, US Secretary of State Colin Powell emphasized the fact that since the May 18 attack, Israel has refrained from using F-16s against Palestinian targets, the paper said – Albawaba.com
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