Israel has suspended a pass that eased the Palestinian foreign minister’s travel in and around the occupied West Bank, as part of its response to Palestinian efforts to involve the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the conflict.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing security cabinet on Friday announced a series of steps, which also included using Palestinian money to compensate victims of Palestinian militant attacks and imposing a moratorium on Palestinian construction in some areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel collects tax money on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.
Israeli border staff confiscated Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki’s “VIP” travel card as he crossed from Jordan into the occupied West Bank, his office said on Sunday.
A spokesperson for Israel’s Defence Ministry, which administers the West Bank, confirmed the move, calling it part of the implementation of Friday’s government decision.
In televised remarks to the Israeli cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said the decision entailed, among other measures, “sanctions against senior Palestinian figures”.
“The Palestinian Authority has promoted an extremist anti-Israeli resolution at the United Nations,” Netanyahu said.
On December 30, the UN General Assembly – responding to an appeal by the Palestinians – asked the ICJ for an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
Read the article in The Canberra Times (AAP).