Israeli sanctions ‘new war’

GBNEWS24DESK//

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh yesterday described a raft of Israeli measures as a “new war” against the Palestinian Authority aimed at pushing it “to the brink”. Israel’s new right-wing government said Friday it will withhold millions of dollars in tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority (PA). This followed the Authority’s successful lobbying for a UN General Assembly vote referring Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories to the International Court of Justice. The Palestinian premier said the retaliatory measures amounted to “a new war against the Palestinian people, their capabilities and their funds, and a war against the national authority (PA) and its survival.” Such sanctions were “aimed at undermining the authority and pushing it to the brink — financially and institutionally,” Shtayyeh said at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting. The deductions amount to around $40 million, which the Israeli government said will be distributed to “families of victims murdered in Palestinian terrorist attacks”.