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Israel Releasing Impounded Palestinian Tax Revenue Israel Releasing Impounded Palestinian Tax Revenue
(about 7 hours later)
JERUSALEM — Israel announced on Friday that it would release three months’ worth of tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority that have accrued since the Israelis suspended the payments in response to the Palestinian move to join the International Criminal Court. JERUSALEM — Israel announced on Friday that it would release three months’ worth of tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority that has accrued since Israel suspended the payments in response to the Palestinian move to join the International Criminal Court.
The announcement appeared to partly reflect a desire by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to ease tensions with the Palestinians and the United States. But it also was a response to a recommendations by his own advisers, who said the impoundment of the revenue was effectively a danger to Israel’s own security. The announcement appeared to partly reflect a desire by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to ease tensions with the Palestinians and the United States. But it also was a response to a recommendation by Israel’s security establishment amid fears that the impoundment of the revenue was undermining stability in the area and endangering Israel’s own well-being.
Mr. Netanyahu approved the recommendation of his defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, and of the Israeli military and the Shin Bet internal security agency to transfer the withheld funds “based on humanitarian concerns and in overall consideration of Israel’s interests at this time,” according to a statement from Mr. Netanyahu’s office. Mr. Netanyahu approved the recommendation of his defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, and of the Israeli military and Shin Bet internal security agency to transfer the withheld funds “based on humanitarian concerns and in overall consideration of Israel’s interests at this time,” according to a statement from Mr. Netanyahu’s office.
Israel collects more than $100 million a month on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. Its impoundment of the money had intensified the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Given the deteriorating situation in the Middle East,” Mr. Netanyahu said in the statement, “one must act responsibly and with due consideration alongside a determined struggle against extremist elements.”
The money, collected in December, January and February, will be transferred minus payments for services rendered to the Palestinian population such as electricity, water and hospitalization, Israel said. Israel collects more than $100 million a month in customs and other taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. Israel’s impoundment of the money had intensified the downward spiral of Israeli-Palestinian relations since the breakdown of American-brokered peace negotiations a year ago. Israel has been under increasing international pressure to release the funds.
Mr. Netanyahu said in the statement, “Given the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, one must act responsibly and with due consideration alongside a determined struggle against extremist elements.” Palestinian officials had denounced the punitive measure as “piracy” and warned that the financial pressure could ultimately lead to the disintegration of the 20-year-old Palestinian Authority. Israel Radio reported on Friday that gas stations in the Palestinian areas have stopped honoring the fuel coupons issued to members of the Palestinian security forces in recent days, preventing them from refueling their vehicles, because of an accumulation of Palestinian Authority debt to the stations.
A spokesman for Mr. Netanyahu originally indicated that the regular transfer of tax revenue would be resumed, but he later clarified that only the money accrued up until the end of February would be transferred. Israel said that the tax money accrued from December to the end of February would be transferred minus payments for services rendered to the Palestinian population, such as electricity, water and hospitalization.
It is possible that Israeli officials are waiting to see whether the Palestinians l file a complaint against Israel in the International Criminal Court once their accession to the court is finalized on April 1. It was not immediately clear whether the regular, monthly transfer of the tax revenue would be resumed, starting with the March revenue due to be transferred in early April.
The tax revenue makes up a significant portion of the Palestinian budget. In the last few months the Palestinian Authority has been able to pay only partial salaries to its tens of thousands of employees, and senior Israeli military officials have warned that the economic crisis could destabilize the occupied West Bank. It is possible that Israel is waiting to see if the Palestinians follow through on their threat to file a complaint against Israelis in the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and settlement activity once the Palestinian accession to the court is formalized on April 1.
The decision to transfer the money came after Mr. Netanyahu’s conservative Likud Party won a decisive victory in the March 17 elections and amid a worsening crisis in Israel’s relations with the Obama administration. Tensions have arisen in part over contradictory statements by Mr. Netanyahu about his support for a Palestinian state, a cornerstone of American policy in the Middle East. The tax revenue makes up a significant portion of the Palestinian Authority’s operating budget. In the past few months, the Palestinian Authority has only been able to pay partial salaries to its tens of thousands of employees, and senior Israeli military officials have warned that the economic crisis could destabilize the occupied West Bank.
Israel has used its financial control of Palestinian tax revenue at least a half-dozen times in the past as a lever to pressure the Palestinians by withholding the money. The tax transfers have usually been renewed within weeks.
The decision on Friday to transfer the withheld funds comes after Mr. Netanyahu’s conservative Likud Party won a decisive victory in the March 17 elections and amid a worsening crisis in Israel’s relations with the Obama administration, fueled in part over contradictory statements made by Mr. Netanyahu of late regarding his support for a Palestinian state alongside Israel, a cornerstone of American policy in the Middle East.
In the days before his election to a fourth term, Mr. Netanyahu had said that no Palestinian state would be established on his watch, in an effort to appeal to right-wing voters. He subsequently backtracked in television interviews, saying that he had been misunderstood, and that the current realities in the region made the discussion irrelevant at this time.
Nevertheless, President Obama and his aides have continued to sharply criticize Mr. Netanyahu’s apparent disavowal of the two-state solution.
The timing of the announcement, on the Muslim day of rest and shortly before the onset of the Jewish sabbath, may have been an effort to minimize news media attention to the change of position on the tax revenue, so soon after the elections. Palestinian officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ehab Bessaiso, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying, “Until now, we haven’t received any money, nor have we officially been informed of anything.”
The departing United Nations envoy for the Middle East peace process, Robert Serry, urged Israel to immediately reverse its decision to withhold tax revenue in a briefing to the Security Council on Thursday. Mr. Serry, who is ending a seven-year tenure as the United Nations special envoy for the Middle East Peace Process, said the Palestinian Authority’s financial crisis was deepening and that Israel’s action was in violation of the peace accords it signed with the Palestinians in the 1990s.