Israeli army recommends unfreezing Palestinian taxes

The Israeli military have recommended the release of around NIS 2.5billion of the Palestinian Authority (PA) tax revenues, Israeli media reported.

A senior Israeli army official was reported by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth as warning that economic sanctions implemented by Israel against the PA could backfire.

The official also said that a “pushback” from the Palestinian street could lead to unrest, or even an uprising in the West Bank.

According to army officials, the newspaper said, growing economic tensions in the Palestinian market in the West Bank serve as a catalyst for riots and even terror attacks, breaking the relative calm the West Bank has enjoyed in recent years.

The Israeli authorities froze the PA tax revenues to punish the PA for pursuing unilateral actions in the diplomatic arena, such as their attempt to attain statehood through a United Nations Security Council resolution and accession to the Rome Statute.