Israeli revenue freeze is "a warning" to the Palestinians

Israel’s finance minister has said that the Israeli decision to freeze the tax revenue transfer to the Palestinian Authority is a “punishment”. Yuval Steinitz said that the “warning” move by Israel was a response to Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement with Hamas.

Speaking to Radio Israel, Steinitz said, “The delay in transferring funds is a yellow card for the Palestinian Authority after the signing of the agreement with Hamas.” At the moment, it is a delay of a week to ten days, but it could become a “red card”, depending on “clarifications” from the Palestinians.

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Annually, Israel collects taxes totalling between $55 – 62 million at border crossings and ports on behalf of the PA and transfers it to the Palestinians under an economic deal agreed alongside the Oslo autonomy accords.