Israel to Release Blocked Palestinian Funds

Israeli and Palestinian media reported on Saturday that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu has reached an agreement with representatives of Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, to release the blocked funds of the Palestinians. According to these reports, this agreement was reached on Friday night, April 28, as a result of recent weeks of discussions in the 'Israeli-Palestinian Reconciliation Committee.' The news website 'Times of Israel' reported on Saturday, April 29, that Hussein al-Sheikh, the Palestinian Minister of Social Affairs, secured the final agreement in a meeting on Friday with Colonel Yoav Mordechai, who is the 'Coordinator of Israeli Activities in the Palestinian Territories.' Israel has withheld Palestinian tax revenues for the past five months in response to the Palestinian Authority's request to join the International Criminal Court in The Hague. According to the Oslo peace agreement of 1993, the Israeli government collects taxes from Palestinian traders and transfers the total to the Palestinian Authority. However, Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly seized Palestinian tax funds in recent years, but each time returned them to the Palestinian Authority under pressure from the international community; an act that Palestinians have labeled 'banditry.' Following last month's general elections in Israel, Netanyahu was forced under pressure from the U.S. and other global factors to release the funds that had been blocked since December from the Palestinians. However, this time Mahmoud Abbas refused to accept the released funds because Israel had 'stolen' one-third of the tax money. Israel claims that it deducted the costs of water, electricity, and medical services provided to the Palestinians and that there was no 'theft' involved. Palestinian leadership warned Netanyahu two weeks ago that if all Palestinian funds were not returned, they would file a complaint against Israel at the International Criminal Court. However, as a result of the new agreement, Rami Hamdallah, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, announced on Saturday that Israel has committed to fully return the seized funds related to March and April 2015 and to release the tax funds from December 2014, January 2015, and February 2015 after deducting service costs. The Palestinians have also agreed to pay off their remaining debts to Israeli water, electricity, and municipal companies. Palestinian tax revenues constitute a large part of the budget of the self-governing authority and cover its current expenses; the rest of the Palestinian budget comes from international donations, especially from Gulf monarchies, but these international aids have recently decreased. According to Israeli radio reports, the funds that Netanyahu's government seized from Palestinian traders in December 2014, January, February, and March 2015 amount to more than one billion eight hundred million shekels, equivalent to 471 million dollars. According to 'Times of Israel,' this money will be deposited into the Palestinian Central Bank 'in the next couple of days.' Despite Israel's punitive actions against the Palestinians, the International Criminal Court in The Hague recognized the membership of the 'State of Palestine' as of April 1, 2023. Palestinians have stated that they will file two complaints against Israel at this court; one regarding Israeli settlement expansion in occupied territories and the other concerning the killing of over 2,400 Palestinians and the destruction of large parts of Gaza during last summer's war between the Israeli army and armed Palestinian groups in Gaza.