Israel’s new government kicked off the year by slapping a series of sanctions on the PA in response to its request for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Israel’s occupation
More than 90 United Nations member states on Tuesday rejected Israel’s punitive measures imposed against the Palestinian Authority, which were enacted earlier this month in response to a resolution which requested an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on Israel’s occupation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government kicked off the new year by slapping a series of sanctions on the PA following the passing of the resolution, including the freezing of Palestinian construction plans in the West Bank and transferring tens of millions of dollars in Palestinian tax revenue to the Israeli victims of Palestinian attacks’ families.
Over 90 member states issued a statement to “to call for their immediate reversal.” Germany was notably among four European Union states who signed onto the statement despite voting against the initial UN resolution to refer the question of Israel’s occupation to the ICJ. Fifteen other EU member states, including Italy and France, also backed Tuesday’s statement of support after having abstained from the initial resolution.
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan accused the Palestinians of “exploiting” the UN to “commit state terror and try to hurt Israel” following the resolution’s release.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also responded to the statement, tweeting that “meaningless statements and signatures” won’t stop Israel from making the “right” decisions to protect its citizens.
Meanwhile, Minister Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations declared that “any country that believes in multilateralism and is committed to the international-law based order can not but oppose such punitive measures that target and affect the Palestinian people, leadership and civil society.”
In the wake of the statement, the UN Security Council is set to meet on Wednesday to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and sources say they are expected to bring up Israel’s sanctions against the PA.
