Israel imposes sanctions on Palestinians after moves at top UN court

JERUSALEM

Israel announced a package of five sanctions against the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Friday in response to its diplomatic efforts to get the UN’s top court to weigh in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The measures were a “response to the Palestinian Authority’s decision to wage political and legal war against the State of Israel,” said a statement by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following a Cabinet meeting.

It said the first decision was to divert 139 million Israeli shekels ($39 million) of taxes collected by Tel Aviv on behalf of the PA to Israelis harmed by Palestinian attacks.

The second decision was to deduct from Palestinian tax earnings the same amount of funds that the PA pays to families of Palestinian prisoners and those killed in the conflict.

Another punitive step was to halt Palestinian construction activities in Area C, denoting parts of the occupied West Bank under Israel’s administrative and security control until a final status agreement is reached with the Palestinians.

The statement said the fourth sanction was to revoke the VIP cards of Palestinian officials Israel accuses of leading Palestinian efforts in the UN. These documents are used by Palestinian officials to easily pass in and out of the occupied West Bank without being harassed or searched by Israeli forces at checkpoints.

According to the statement, the fifth decision was to take measures against Palestinian institutions in the occupied West Bank accused of working against Israel.

Last week, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution requesting the International Court of Justice to weigh in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli “annexation,” and the “legal status of the occupation.”

The resolution, which is titled “Israeli practices and settlement activities affecting the rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories,” was promoted by the PA and it was passed by a vote of 87 in favor, 26 against, and 53 abstaining.

It calls on the top UN court to “render urgently an advisory opinion” on Israel’s “prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of Palestinian territory.”