{"id":56233,"date":"2024-05-22T13:23:41","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T13:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/22\/israel-responds-to-move-to-recognize-palestinian-state-by-withholding-funds\/"},"modified":"2024-05-22T13:23:41","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T13:23:41","slug":"israel-responds-to-move-to-recognize-palestinian-state-by-withholding-funds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/22\/israel-responds-to-move-to-recognize-palestinian-state-by-withholding-funds\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Responds to Move to Recognize Palestinian State by Withholding Funds"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/22\/multimedia\/22mideast-crisis-israel-react-01-qphf\/22mideast-crisis-israel-react-01-qphf-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Israel Responds to Move to Recognize Palestinian State by Withholding Funds\" title=\"Israel Responds to Move to Recognize Palestinian State by Withholding Funds\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Israel will not transfer much-needed funds to the Palestinian Authority in the wake of the decision by three European countries to recognize a Palestinian state, the country\u2019s finance minister said on Wednesday, as its foreign minister denounced the European moves as giving \u201ca gold medal to Hamas terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The decision by the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right leader who opposes Palestinian sovereignty, threatened to push the Palestinian government into a deeper fiscal crisis. He said in a statement that he had informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would no longer send tax revenues to the authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank in close cooperation with Israel. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Smotrich\u2019s office signaled that the decision was at least partly a response to Spain, Norway and Ireland recognizing Palestinian statehood, and that the Palestinian leadership bore responsibility for campaigning for the move.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey are acting against Israel legally, diplomatically and for unilateral recognition,\u201d said Eytan Fuld, a spokesman for Mr. Smotrich, referring to the authority. \u201cWhen they act against the state of Israel, there must be a response.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Palestinian Authority did not immediately respond, but Palestinian officials have previously condemned Israel\u2019s withholding of Palestinian tax revenues it collects as \u201cpiracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Israel also recalled its ambassadors from Spain, Ireland and Norway for consultations on Wednesday morning. Israel Katz, the Israeli foreign minister, said he had summoned the countries\u2019 envoys to Israel for a \u201csevere scolding\u201d following \u201ctheir governments\u2019 decision to award a gold medal to Hamas terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment on Mr. Smotrich\u2019s statement, nor did it immediately comment on the European countries\u2019 announcements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Under decades-old agreements, Israel collects customs and import taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. Those revenues constitute most of the Palestinian budget, particularly as international aid has declined. But Mr. Smotrich \u2014 who has labeled the Palestinian Authority \u201can enemy\u201d \u2014 had already delayed transferring the latest tranche of funds before the announcements on Wednesday, said Mr. Fuld and a Palestinian official. The Palestinian official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority is already in a severe financial crisis following tightened Israeli restrictions on its funding and a depressed West Bank economy stemming from the war. This month, it managed to pay only <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PMOFPS\/posts\/pfbid02W3NzAZabEiDGnNNKrT4oomMcFK9hb9QFkYox3BqeLMxJu2XVjSXMgTbgrJRUPikvl?locale=ar_AR\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">50 percent<\/a> of the salaries of tens of thousands of civil servants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Diplomats and analysts have warned that the Palestinian government\u2019s deepening financial problems could lead to further unrest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. More than 500 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, many in clashes with Israeli forces, since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 prompted Israel to go to war in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Palestinians have faced tightening Israeli restrictions since Oct. 7. Over 100,000 Palestinians who worked in Israel were barred from entering, creating mass unemployment overnight. Near-nightly raids, Israeli road closures, and stricter checkpoints have further choked the Palestinian economy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Palestinian Authority traditionally disburses some of the tax funds collected by Israel to Gaza. After the war broke out in October, Mr. Smotrich said he would withhold that part from the amount it transfers to the authority. Palestinian officials refused to accept the reduced payments at all in protest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After a monthslong standoff over the issue, Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed to a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.regjeringen.no\/en\/aktuelt\/norway-assists-in-scheme-for-crucial-financial-transfers-from-israel-to-palestine\/id3025994\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">deal<\/a> stipulating that Norway would hold some of the revenues in trust until Israel agreed they could be sent to the Palestinians. The Palestinians agreed to receive the reduced payments in the meantime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Wednesday, Mr. Smotrich called for the government to immediately annul that agreement as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Top Israeli officials, including Mr. Netanyahu, have repeatedly excoriated international recognition of a Palestinian state as a \u201cprize for terrorism\u201d after the Oct. 7 attack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Most of the current hard-line Israeli government rejects the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, practically ruling out peace talks to end Israel\u2019s decades-long occupation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">President Biden and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken have said that after <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/news-event\/israel-hamas-gaza\" title=\"\">the war<\/a>, Gaza <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/11\/08\/us\/politics\/blinken-gaza-palestinian-authority.html\" title=\"\">should be unified<\/a> with the West Bank <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2023\/11\/18\/joe-biden-gaza-hamas-putin\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">under a \u201crevitalized\u201d Palestinian Authority<\/a>. Israel has remained vehemently opposed to that idea. The authority in its current form is also unpopular among Palestinians, who view it as complicit in Israel\u2019s occupation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/22\/world\/middleeast\/israel-reacts-palestinian-finance.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Israel will not transfer much-needed funds to the Palestinian Authority in the wake of the decision by three European countries to recognize a Palestinian state, the country\u2019s finance minister said on Wednesday, as its foreign minister denounced the European moves as giving \u201ca gold medal to Hamas terrorists.\u201d The decision by the finance minister, Bezalel [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/22\/multimedia\/22mideast-crisis-israel-react-01-qphf\/22mideast-crisis-israel-react-01-qphf-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3736,38,59,19637,17264,5638,2480,14525],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56233"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56233"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56235,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56233\/revisions\/56235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}