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Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has decided to respond to unilateral PA (Palestinian Authority) actions by freezing a half billion shekels in tax revenue funds. Those funds should be passed to the PA on Sunday, 13 Teves, but Israel will not do so. This is the prime minister’s response to PA Chairman Abu Mazen’s decision to join the International Criminal Court in The Hague towards filing charges against Israel for alleged war crimes. Abu Mazen called Israel’s decision to hold the tax funds “war crimes” as well.
At the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday 13 Teves, the prime minister told reporters, “The Palestinian Authority has chosen confrontation with Israel and we will not sit idly by. We will not allow IDF soldiers and commanders to be hauled before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. It is the Palestinian Authority leaders – who have allied with the war criminals of Hamas – who must be called to account. The soldiers of the IDF will continue to defend the State of Israel with strength and determination and just as they defend us, we will defend them with the same strength and determination”.
On Thursday, 10 Teves, Mr. Netanyahu met with representatives of the Foreign Ministry, ISA (Israel Security Agency – Shin Bet) and IDF. It was decided to formulate a plan to address the mounting international legal actions against Israel. It is noted that due to election tensions between the two, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was not invited to the high-level briefing.
Responding to the meeting, Foreign Minister Lieberman stated “The prime minister was not really looking for a solution and that is why he did not invite decision-makers, but merely clerks so those present would not disagree with his views”.
In the past, the withholding of tax revenue was nothing more than a media ploy and after the United States exerted its diplomatic influence on Jerusalem, the money was transferred, albeit a number of days later than it should have.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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3 Responses
Sorry but the unrepentant terrorist Abu Mazen is right here. Why didn’t Netanyahu for once do something sensible. He could have got the |Israel Electric Corporation, who are reportedly owed a lot more than NIS 500mn by the pals, to seek an order freezing government funds until a hearing on the IEC request to garnish the funds. All legal, all above board. Instead Israel is playing silly childish games.
This could end up in the World Court (not the International Criminal Court). Israel’s rights depend on whether there is a link between the Israeli collecting taxes for the Palestinians and the Palestinians having to pay for Israeli utilities (if there isn’t the Israelis are obligated to turn over the Palestinian tax revenues, and the most they can do is cut off the utilities for non-payment).
The talk of the ICC shouldn’t be taken seriously since any prosecution of Israelis would also trigger prosecutions of Palestinians for support terrorism, and they have a lot more to worry about. The Palestinians can’t complain about Israelis being trigger-happy (which results in Israeli courts martial) when they pay pensions to the terrorists and their families (not to mention sponsoring and advocating terrorism).
Last I heard, the PA owes over $900m in unpaid electricity bills. If I, a JEWISH Israeli, don’t pay MY bill I will get cut off. How much more do we have to pay to support these murderous freeloaders???