Measures are new war against Palestinians, their funds, national authority (PA) and survival, says Shtayyeh
\n RAMALLAH
\nPalestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Monday described a raft of Israeli measures as a \u201cnew war\u201d against the Palestinian Authority (PA) aimed at pushing it \u201cto the brink\u201d.
\nIsrael\u2019s new right-wing government said on Friday that it will withhold millions of dollars in tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority (PA).
\nThis followed the Authority\u2019s successful lobbying for a UN General Assembly vote referring Israel\u2019s occupation of the Palestinian territories to the International Court of Justice.
\nThe Palestinian premier said the retaliatory measures amounted to \u201ca new war against the Palestinian people, their capabilities and their funds, and a war against the national authority (PA) and its survival.\u201d
\nSuch sanctions were \u201caimed at undermining the authority and pushing it to the brink \u2014 financially and institutionally,\u201d Shtayyeh said at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting.
\nThe deductions amount to around $40 million, which the Israeli government said will be distributed to \u201cfamilies of victims murdered in Palestinian terrorist attacks\u201d.
\nIsrael has repeatedly withheld tax and customs revenues it collects on behalf of the PA, particularly in response to the body making payments to the families of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or during attacks on Israelis.
\nDiscussing the move on Sunday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned the cash-strapped PA \u201cwill have to decide if it wants to continue existing.\u201d
\n\u201cAs long as the PA encourages terror and is an enemy, what interest do I have in helping it continue to exist?\u201d Smotrich said at a press conference.
\nThe Israeli government also ordered a moratorium on Palestinian construction plans in the largest part of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Six-Day War.
\nAs a further step, Israel revoked VIP passes for several officials, including Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki, which had allowed them to enter Israel and pass through the country\u2019s international airport in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Measures are new war against Palestinians, their funds, national authority (PA) and survival, says Shtayyeh RAMALLAH Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Monday described a raft of Israeli measures as a \u201cnew war\u201d against the Palestinian Authority (PA) aimed at pushing it \u201cto the brink\u201d. Israel\u2019s new right-wing government said on Friday that it will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306493,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-306449","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n