New Israel gov't hits back over Palestinian recourse to UN

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel's new hard-right government announced on Friday that it will withhold some Palestinian Authority revenues in response to its move to seek "consequences" from the United Nations for the Israeli occupation.

The decision was taken at the first security cabinet meeting of the new government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which is regarded as the most right-wing in Israel's history.

The prime minister's office said the Cabinet was acting in "response to the Palestinian Authority's decision to wage political and legal war against the State of Israel".

Last week, at the PA's request, the UN General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice to consider consequences for Israel over its occupation of Palestinian territories, a day after the Netanyahu government took office. 

The General Assembly voted 87-26 with 53 abstentions on the resolution, with Western nations split but virtually unanimous support in the Islamic world,

"The current government will not sit idly by in the face of this war and will respond as necessary," Netanyahu's office said.

It said around $40 million of the tax receipts it withheld from the PA would be used to compensate "families of victims murdered in Palestinian terrorist attacks".

It said it would also withhold a sum equivalent to the amount spent in 2022 on "payments made by the PA to terrorists and their families", without specifying how much.

The PA has long made monthly payments to the families of Palestinians killed in clashes with the Israeli forces or while carrying out attacks against Israeli targets.

Under past peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians, Israel collects customs duties and other tax revenues on the PA's behalf, which it has often used as a bargaining counter with the Palestinian leadership in the past.

The Cabinet also ordered a “moratorium on Palestinian construction plans in Area C”, the largest part of the occupied West Bank which falls under Israeli administrative and security control.

The Palestinian foreign ministry said the Israeli reprisals were a “reflection of the Netanyahu government’s racist colonial platform against our people” and “a flagrant violation of Israel’s obligations as an occupying power”.

It said they would “not discourage our people and our leadership from continuing the struggle... to provide international protection for our people and to put an end to Israel’s continued impunity”.

The Islamist rulers of Gaza, Hamas, condemned the “punitive measures” and called on the Palestinian Authority “not to give in” to Israeli pressure.