Israel has started implementing economic sanctions against the Palestinian authorities and is looking at ways to prosecute senior Palestinians for war crimes in the United States and elsewhere in reaction to the Palestinian authorities trying to join the International Criminal Court, Israeli officials said on Saturday.
Israel froze about $125 million from tax funds collected on the behalf of the Palestinian authorities which were scheduled to go through this month in response to the Palestinians’ ICC bid, Ynet News reported Israeli sources as saying.
Later on Saturday, an Israeli official also confirmed to Agence France-Presse that Tel Aviv is freezing the tax funds.
The funds were frozen following a discussion convened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A senior Palestinian official slammed the decision as “Israeli piracy.”
Each month, the Palestinian authorities’ salaries cost around $200 million, of which $120 million stems from taxes collected by Israel.
The Palestinians also could lose their $400 million in annual U.S. aid if the Palestinians used membership in the ICC to press claims against Israel… see more
source: alarabiya.net
Tags: Israel, Palestine, Politics, Tax Money
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