São Paulo – The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, asked this Wednesday (18th) for Israel to transfer to the Palestinian Authority the funds from tax collection that was confiscated by the Israeli. According to information from United Nations Radio, this is the second month in which the Israelis take this measure as retaliation to Palestine joining the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier this year.
The funds confiscated by Israel, approximately US$ 200 million, come from import taxes of products that enter Palestine. Israel collects these taxes and later transfers them to the Palestinians. As the Palestine Authority joined the ICC and asked for an investigation about the 2014 June and July conflict, the Israeli government decided not to transfer the funds collected.
This Wednesday, Feltman stated that the decision by the Israeli government, announced February 4th, is a breach of internationals protocols that determine the transfer of the funds and asked for an “immediate reversal” of this measure. The Palestinians are resorting to loans from private banks to pay the salaries of civil servants.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
