Israel freezes Palestine tax funds over ICC bid

[Ichingcarpenter]

Source: BBC

Israel has halted the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinians following their bid to join the International Criminal Court, Israeli officials say.

They said $127m (£82m; €106m) collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority last month would be held back.

The Palestinians submitted documents to join the ICC on Friday in a move opposed by both Israel and the US. Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat condemned the Israeli measure, calling it a "new war crime".

"Israel is once again responding to our legal steps with further illegal collective punishments," Mr Erekat said.

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30667440

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[cosmicone]

1. Israel has a small window of opportunity to make peace

because time is not on Israel's side.

Once the power of evangelical white voters in the US diminishes, the new hispanic/asian/black majorities will not care for funding Israel or for putting up with such shenanigans.

Their best bet would be to make peace with the Fatah in the West Bank and leave Gaza alone for the moment. Once Hamas sees the wonders of peace, they will probably come around although it is impossible to predict what Hamas would do.

[NobodyHere]

2. Hamas doesn't want peace

They want Israel destroyed.

[another_liberal]

9. Can you blame them?

Israel doesn't just desire Palestinian "destruction," they act on it big time!

[BillZBubb]

26. It is Israel that doesn't want peace if it means giving up land it covets.

Hamas is merely a byproduct of Israeli cruelty and callousness.

And Hamas doesn't represent most Palestinians.

[Mosby]

3. I don't think it's possible with the current Palstinian leadership

Mohammad Dahlan is trying to take over Fatah, he would be a lot better than Abbas, either way though the Palestinian democracy experiment has failed, just like the "Arab spring" in general. It's still a zero sum game for the Palestinian leadership, they simply cannot envision a win-win no matter who's the PM.

My opinion is that time is running out for the Palestinians, Israel can do without 3 billion per year in military subsidies, their military spending is close to 16 billion per year. The loss of the American subsidy would simply mean that they could not buy some of the smart weapons they get from the US. Essentially the loss of the American subsidy will harm Palestinians because the Israelis might have to resort to low tech weapons that are much more brutal.

The Palestinians on the other hand live on Western welfare to the tune of several billion per year. When you consider that the population of refugees is growing exponentially because they received "inheritable" refugee status the situation becomes unsustainable. The refugee population started at 600-700 thousand in 1948, now the refugee population exceeds 11 MILLION. Another decade the population will climb to 20-25 million. Do you think the Western countries will keep subsidizing this forever considering the financial problems in Europe and the US? I don't.

[Ken Burch]

14. None of the hardline tactics Israel is using can help Dahlan, though. n/t.

[Mosby]

19. true, and withholding tax revenue is just wrong.

Bibi can be really stupid sometimes, what could he possibly think he's going to accomplish with this move?

[Ken Burch]

35. Cutting into"Naftali" Bennett's vote? Or Lieberman's? Beating Danny Danon in the Likud primary?

Last edited Mon Jan 5, 2015, 02:13 AM - Edit history (2)

Hanging on to power in his party and in the election is the main thing I can think of as a motivation. That, or Netanyanu still hasn't given up on the idea that it's actually possible for Israel to sign a "peace deal&quot which, in his mind, can only be unconditional Palestinian surrender)with a Pal leadership the Israeli government has maneuvered into place (never mind that such a deal would be worth about as much as a plate of day-old falafel).

This is, after all, the guy who was involved in the decision to build up Hamas as a "counterbalance to the PLO" back in the day. And didn't THAT produce wonderful results?

[Xolodno]

5. Gonna have to disagree...

...once Palestine becomes a state...I think Fatah and Hamas are headed to civil war.

[Rhinodawg]

6. Brother, are you dreaming.

.

[cosmicone]

7. Sometimes..

it is good to dream of peace between Israel and Palestine so that one of the fuels for Islamic terrorism is gone.

(Not that they won't find some other reason later)

[Rhinodawg]

10. ISIS or Hamas or "jihadi crazies" (from Comrade grumpy)...no difference

The answers are:

A. ISIS/ISIL
B. Hamas
C. Both
D. Neither


___ 1. This group rules by violence, intimidation, murder and barbarism.

___ 2. In their own perverted interpretation of the Koran, they hang and kill gays without hesitation.

___ 3. They view women as 2nd class citizens who are subservient to men.

___ 4. They want to erase/ eliminate / murder all people in their domain who do not subscribe to their own religion.

___ 5. Some of them have called for a 2nd Holocaust against jews...because they are jews.

___ 6. They use media to recruit children to become jihadists and kill their "enemy". (war crime)

___ 7. They view Freedom of Assembly as punishable by death.

____8. Freedom of Speech is absolutely forbidden.

____ 9. They are considered a terrorist group .

____10. They commit crimes against humanity by torturing innocent people with rubber generator belts or cables, torturing people with electric shocks or dragging them by motorcycles as a form of intimidation.

And for extra credit.

___11.There are people who , rather than blame these acts by this group, put the blame on the US or Israel.

[Violet_Crumble]

12. No-one else but Israel and the US are to blame for trying to punish the PA for joining the ICC...

Anyone who thinks otherwise is living in a fantasy world.

[BillZBubb]

27. Correct.

[Bigmack]

34. Yes nt (Ms Bigmack)

[Purveyor]

4. Collective punishment...another 'war crime' endorsed by our US gov't.

Aren't you proud? eom

[another_liberal]

8. Why the hell is Israel collecting taxes owed to the PA in the first place?

Let me guess: The U.S. and Israel decided that was the best way to assure taxes didn't go to finance "Evil doers."

[hack89]

11. Two sources. Payroll withholding for Palestians that work in Israel

and import duties for Palestinian goods that pass through Israeli ports.

[another_liberal]

15. It's about time the Palestinians had their own access to the World . . .

Perhaps a few crossing points into Jordan not overseen by Israeli soldiers, or an airport or two? Gaza, of course, could easily open a trading harbor, if all the trigger-happy Israeli warships would just go the hell home!

[hack89]

16. Once Hamas refrains from smuggling weapons into Gaza

I have no doubt that a Gaza port could be possible.

[another_liberal]

17. The UN charter enshrines the right of all people to self defense against attack . . .

Are you suggesting the Palestinians don't qualify as "people?"

[hack89]

18. Long range offensive weapons are not self defense weapons

secondly, the UN charter allows Israel to defend themselves against Hamas rockets - are you suggesting the Israelis don't qualify as people? The blockade is part of that effort. Lets not forget that there have been UN agencies that have declared the blockade legal and in accordance with international law so it is not as simple as you think it is.

[BillZBubb]

28. Hamas is always the convenient scapegoat for Israeli misbehavior.

If it wasn't them, it would be something else. Hamas was nothing until the Israelis radicalized more and more Palestinians.

[hack89]

31. Except Hamas' attempts to smuggle offensive weaponry into Gaza are well documented.

so the Jews made Hamas send suicide bombers to kill Jews? Interesting logic there.

[Johnny Rash]

20. Why should Israel pay, now? There is hardly any Palestinians left!

It's not like another RESOLUTION is going to make any difference!

[Mosby]

21. that map is nothing more than a series of lies

It's Palestinian propaganda.

Not a single pane accurately reflects historical reality.

[fingrin]

22. Congratulations!

You win todays WTF competition.
You almost had me believing you at 6am in the morning, then I fully woke up to the smell of B/S.
Why are you Anti Goyim?

[Mosby]

23. thanks!

You didn't refute a single thing I wrote.

Sometimes this is just too easy.

[fingrin]

24. In all fairness

The burden of proof is on you since you first laid the claim of the post being inaccurate and "Propaganda"
But a troll, is a troll, is a troll.
Somethings (Trolls) are not worth debating.

[BillZBubb]

29. What a pantload.

All you wrote was that the maps were Palestinian propaganda. You didn't provide one bit of data to back that claim. Further you could only do using Israeli propaganda.

Please provide a map of the areas of the West Bank under FULL Palestinian control and not subject to seizure by Israel.

[Mosby]

32. I shouldn't have to refute anything, its just history

Like who annexed the west bank in 1950?

There was no palestine from 1949 to 1967, it was occupied and then annexed by Jordan. That's just ONE LIE from one frame of the map.

[King_David]

40. Correct

[oberliner]

33. The BS maps keep making the rounds

Map #1 implies that all the area in green is "Palestinian land" when in reality it was not. The Palestinians did not have an independent state in 1947. 1947 was the tail end of the British Mandate period. The British were in charge and appointed who they wanted as rulers. The map gives the impression that there was some kind of independent Palestinian state existing in 1947 when this was not the case by any stretch of the imagination.

Map #2 is of a plan that was never actually implemented. It was a proposal to divide the land, creating - for the first time an history - an independent Palestinian state alongside a Jewish state. This plan was rejected and thus never came to be. So the map presented in #2 at no point represented reality.

Map #3 was a result of the civil war that took place when the British promised land to both Jewish and Arab residents of Palestine. The neighboring Arab states attacked and were defeated resulting in the creation of the state of Israel and the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip by Jordan and Egypt respectively.

Neither country allowed for the creation of a Palestinian state at that time - so Map #3 is blatantly lying when it implies that the West Bank and Gaza were "Palestinian land" as they were both occupied. To label the West Bank as "Palestine" from 1949-1967 is simply false by any definition. Anyone with a basic knowledge of the conflict and its history would know that.

Map #4, set in "the present" would actually represent the first time in history that an independent Palestinian state has ever existed. The areas in green in the West Bank represent all of its population centers (Ramallah, Nablus, etc) which are all under completely independent Palestinian rule (a first in the history of the region).

[Sunlei]

37. why doesn't Jordan or Egypt offer a bit of their *vast empty lands* to the Pals?

Or both countries?

[Rhinodawg]

39. Because that would end the conflict..

and the Egyptians and the Jordanians would actually ha be to look at their own countries.

[Sunlei]

38. we could always go back to the iron age but wait! that gives even more land to Israel & Judah :P

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Kingdoms_of_Israel_and_Judah_map_830.svg

[BillZBubb]

30. This Israeli action will weaken the PA and strengthen Hamas.

But that is exactly what the Israeli right wants. Then, they'll later whine about how the Palestinians love Hamas.

[Sunlei]

36. Israel handsover aid money to UN to distribute, otherwise Hamas 'gov.' doesn't give to the people.

probably should give any moneys to the special UN charities set-up to actually help the people as Palestinian Authority is also corrupt and skims aid money.