PLO official accuses Israel of attempting to destroy the PA following withholding of equivalent of terror salaries from PA tax money
The following was posted on WAFA's website in English
Headline: Israel, US attempting to destroy Palestinian Authority, says PLO official"
"Ahmad Majdalani, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said on Sunday that Israel is now attempting to destroy the Palestinian Authority through more financial sanctions in partnership with the United States administration. In a press statement, Majdalani said these attempts 'are done through more sanctions and procedures in violation of international law and the resolutions of international legitimacy, by imposing a financial blockade [of the PA].' '[Israel] believes this will compel the Palestinian leadership to comply with the so-called economic peace plan at the expense of political and legal rights [of the Palestinian people] … The Palestinian people may not be compromised by political money,' he continued. Majdalani condemned plans by the Israeli government to deduct from the tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, equal to the amounts of the salaries the PA pays to the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and the families of those killed by the Israeli occupation forces. '[Israel’s] piracy of Palestinian funds is part of the sanctions imposed by the occupying state on our people, which is a clear violation not only of the bilateral agreements with the occupying state [Israel], but of the resolutions of international legitimacy and the four Geneva Conventions.' The PLO official reiterated the call to all friendly countries to participate in the Ireland conference and to take practical measures to maintain the two-state solution. Last year, Israel passed a law allowing the Israeli government to withhold millions of dollars in tax revenues it collects every month on behalf of the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords. In recent weeks, Israeli media sources reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the deduction will go ahead. The monthly customs revenues Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority amount to more than $120 million, while the deducted money will be about $32 million."
Headline: Israel, US attempting to destroy Palestinian Authority, says PLO official"
"Ahmad Majdalani, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said on Sunday that Israel is now attempting to destroy the Palestinian Authority through more financial sanctions in partnership with the United States administration. In a press statement, Majdalani said these attempts 'are done through more sanctions and procedures in violation of international law and the resolutions of international legitimacy, by imposing a financial blockade [of the PA].' '[Israel] believes this will compel the Palestinian leadership to comply with the so-called economic peace plan at the expense of political and legal rights [of the Palestinian people] … The Palestinian people may not be compromised by political money,' he continued. Majdalani condemned plans by the Israeli government to deduct from the tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, equal to the amounts of the salaries the PA pays to the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and the families of those killed by the Israeli occupation forces. '[Israel’s] piracy of Palestinian funds is part of the sanctions imposed by the occupying state on our people, which is a clear violation not only of the bilateral agreements with the occupying state [Israel], but of the resolutions of international legitimacy and the four Geneva Conventions.' The PLO official reiterated the call to all friendly countries to participate in the Ireland conference and to take practical measures to maintain the two-state solution. Last year, Israel passed a law allowing the Israeli government to withhold millions of dollars in tax revenues it collects every month on behalf of the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords. In recent weeks, Israeli media sources reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the deduction will go ahead. The monthly customs revenues Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority amount to more than $120 million, while the deducted money will be about $32 million."