Yossi Kuperwasser
Israel Hayom, Jan. 20, 2023
“… the PA is a terror-promoting entity that has long since proven its commitment to the final objective of Israel’s annihilation.”
Recent steps taken by the new Israeli government in retaliation for the Palestinian Authority’s appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) represent the first indication that a much-needed change is underway. Traditionally, Israeli governments avoided confronting the PA over its breaches of the Oslo Accords, such as supporting terrorism, ongoing incitement, and unilateral activities in international fora.
This reluctance was based on the fear that such retaliation would have inconvenient political consequences. So, the can has been repeatedly kicked down the road in hopes of containing the repercussions. The PA is bad, previous Israeli governments thought, but what’s the alternative?
One of the first decisions made by the new Diplomatic-Security Cabinet was to impose a series of sanctions on the PA, signaling that the Israeli government will no longer look the other way when the PA unilaterally breaches its signed commitments and continues to fund, incentivize and praise terrorism.
First, $40 million taken from PA tax revenue collected by Israel was used to compensate families of terror victims per a pending court order against the PA Next, the cabinet decided to implement the Terror Funds Freezing Law, which deducts the amount of money the PA pays to terrorists and their families from funds designated for the PA
Finally, steps were taken on the ground: VIP permits requested for PA officials who are leading the “lawfare” campaign against Israel were denied. Unjustified and unauthorized Palestinian construction plans for Area C of Judea and Samaria – which Oslo designated as under full Israeli control – were frozen. A series of NGOs operating under the guise of humanitarian aid organizations that served as shell companies for terror groups will be more closely scrutinized. These decisions are important initial steps toward a complete policy change regarding the PA. … [To read the full article, click here]