Palestine

Netanyahu Forms Alliance with Far Right's Lieberman

ShirHever: UN Vote and criticism over Gaza attack matter little to Netanyahu who unites with Minister who advocates ethnic cleansing of Palestinian citizens of Israel

Israel withholds $120mn in Palestinian tax funds as revenge for UN vote

A Palestinian girl walks in the rubble of a house in Gaza City on November 27, 2012. (AFP Photo / Patrick Baz)

RT,

2 December, 2012

Israel has canceled the transfer of US$120 million collected in taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority in response to Palestine’s UN-bid, which saw it granted non-member observer status, thus implicitly recognizing the state.

The halted money, collected in taxes for the month of November, was scheduled to be passed on to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which constitutes a large percentage of the Palestinian budget, including paying the salaries of PA officials, Israeli media reported.

Now, instead, the money will be used to pay for the PA's debt to Israel's Electric Company.

The decision was made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and announced during a weekly government cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

"This is a Palestinian provocation and an attempt to advance their state without recognizing Israel," Steinitz stated.

Israel’s change of mind comes as a response to UN’s decision last week. The Palestinian bid was upheld with 138 votes in favor, nine against and 41 abstentions.

The new status allows the PA access to numerous UN agencies, and to the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

Also, following the status upgrade, Israel announced it will be building 3,000 new settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Israel has been charged with collecting taxes on behalf of the PA, since the latter has no access points such as ports, airports, etc. The system is very complex and is governed by the 1994 Paris Protocols with the Palestinians.

Israel collects around $100 million a month in taxes and customs duties on goods imported into the Palestinian territories.

Israel has halted tax revenue money in the past during times of diplomatic tensions.

For instance, in 2008 Israel delayed transferring tax funds to the Palestinian government after Prime Minister Salam Fayyad angered Israeli leaders by urging the European Union not to renew its ties with Israel.

And in 2011, Israel froze $100 million it owed in taxes to the PA in retaliation after UNESCO, the UN educational and cultural agency, decided to admit Palestine as a member.

Netanyahu cops flak for hawkish response to Palestinian UN success

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Reuters)

RT,

2 December, 2012

The Israeli government’s decision to expand settlements is “a slap in the face for [the] US president,” according to former PM Ehud Olmert. He is the latest to join both domestic and foreign criticism of Israel’s punitive actions against Palestine.

The Israeli government is unfreezing a controversial construction project in the occupied territories in retaliation for the Palestinian success at the UN. But the harsh stance is drawing criticism even from most loyal foreign allies of the Jewish state, including America. Meanwhile at home the hawkish prime minister faces resurge of opposition forces that can put his re-election prospects in doubt.

Netanyahu is enjoying a rise of popularity following the week-long war in Gaza, with his personal approval rating bouncing 11 percentage points, according to post-offensive polls. Together with his ally Avigdor Lieberman and ultra-orthodox and ultra-nationalist parties, he has a convincing lead two months ahead of the early election in January.

While maintaining domestic support, the Israeli PM is increasingly at odds with foreign friends. At the UN General Assembly vote on Thursday which granted Palestinians an upgraded status of non-member observer state, only nine countries voted against the proposition. Even nations that usually support Israel on most issues like Germany and Britain chose to abstain, and just one European nation, the Czech Republic, voted against.

“For Netanyahu to find himself all alone, with only a reluctant partner in Washington and seven other countries by his side, must surely have come as a shock,” wrote Foreign Policy magazine. It argues that Israel’s brief war with Hamas may have pushed Europeans to demonstrate approval for their Palestinian non-violent rival Fatah and its leader Mahmoud Abbas. The elected president of the Palestinian Authority (PA) champions the statehood bid, while Israel didn’t offer any tangible alternative, the magazine says.

Tough defiant stance

 

But rather than toning down its opposition to Palestinian statehood, the Netanyahu government is escalating the tension by taking a series of steps that can only be seen as punitive. Hours after the UN vote it announced construction of new homes in the occupied territories in the West Bank, the territory controlled by Fatah. The development would affect the sensitive E-1 area, the lands east of Jerusalem.

Critics of the previously frozen plan say that if it is carried out, it would dissect West Bank into northern and southern portions and isolate the Arab-inhabited East Jerusalem from the rest of the Palestinian territories. Daniel Seidemann of Ir Amim, a group that promotes coexistence in Jerusalem, called it “a doomsday scenario” that would “be the death of the two-state solution.”

The move was criticized by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her British counterpart William Hague. Turkish and Arab top officials condemned the construction plan, with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu saying it was“the time to show strong reactions to Israeli policies which undermine the peace process.”

Saeb Erekat, an aide to Mahmoud Abbas, said Netanyahu was “defying the whole international community and insisting on destroying the two-state solution,” with the move.

On Sunday, Israel went on to withhold US$120 million worth of taxes it collected from Palestinians this month. The money would normally go to the PA and constitute a major portion of the Abbas government budget. Israel will hold this month’s allotment to cover West Bank’s electricity debt.

Israeli opposition gears up

 

 

Israeli opposition politicians took the chance to criticize Netanyahu’s hawkish stance. Former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who said "the decision to build thousands of housing units as punishment to the Palestinians only punishes Israel … (and) only isolates Israel further."

Another veteran Israeli politician, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, called it “the worst slap in the face of a US president” who actually supported Israel by voting against Palestinian statehood.

Livni, who resigned from politics in May, made a sudden comeback on Tuesday leading a newly-established party. Olmert is rumored to also join the parliamentary run in a matter of days. An October opinion poll by Haaretz newspaper suggested that if the two were both taking parting in the upcoming election and joined forces with Yair Lapid form the new liberal party Yesh Atid, the left-centrist alliance would be strong enough to challenge the right-wing coalition.