The Australian / AFP |July 10, 2023
Israel’s security cabinet on Sunday adopted a declaration to “prevent the collapse of the Palestinian Authority” while demanding an end to “its anti-Israel activity”, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The vote by Israeli ministers, which included no specific plans, came days after a major military raid on the West Bank city of Jenin that killed 12 Palestinians as well as one Israeli soldier.
Mr Netanyahu’s hard-right government in January announced a series of sanctions against Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority – which nominally controls parts of the West Bank – over a push to get the UN’s top court to issue an advisory opinion on Israeli control of the territory.
PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said at the time the Israeli sanctions were aimed at “pushing (the PA) to the brink … financially and institutionally” and part of “a new war against the Palestinian people”.
The Israeli security cabinet on Sunday voted for a “draft decision submitted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu” which says “Israel will act to prevent the collapse of the Palestinian Authority,” the premier’s office said.
The declaration also presents a series of demands for the PA to “cease its anti-Israel activity in the international legal-diplomatic arena” as well as “incitement” and “illegal construction in Area C” of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli control.
It is almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain construction permits in Area C, which covers about 60 per cent of the territory.
Another demand was to stop “payments to the families of terrorists”, referring to stipends provided by the PA to families of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and to families of prisoners in Israeli jails, or detainees themselves, including those convicted of killing Israelis.
As part of the sanctions imposed in January, Israel withheld dozens of millions of dollars in tax revenues from the PA over its financial support for militants.
The Israeli government also ordered a moratorium on Palestinian construction plans in parts of the West Bank, which Israel has held since the 1967 Six-Day War.
The statement on Sunday from Mr Netanyahu’s office said the Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant will present “steps to stabilise” the embattled PA.
Israeli media said the proposed measures may include the establishment of industrial zones for Palestinians in Area C of the West Bank and other moves to support the Palestinian economy.