Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Israel Will Hold $100M in Taxes from Palestinians; A Punishment for Palestine's UNESCO Admission

The Washington Post website reports today (November 15, 2011) that the Israeli Cabinet ministers decided yesterday to hold on to about $100 million in taxes owed to the Palestinians, despite warnings from Israel's Defense Ministry that the measure could threaten the stability of the Palestinian government in the West Bank.

Israel stopped transfer of tax funds as punishment for the Palestinians' successful bid for admission to UNESCO -- the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization -- which was part of an unsuccessful larger effort to gain admission as a state in the world body.

Israel believes creation of a Palestinian state must be achieved through negotiations, and charges that the UN bid is one of a series of steps to bring unwarranted pressure on the Jewish state.

Israeli defense officials have warned that funding cutoffs threaten Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's moderate Palestinian Authority.

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