On Sunday evening, the Israeli Mini-Ministerial Council for Political and Security Affairs (Cabinet) discussed taking punitive steps against the Palestinian Authority and enhancing settlement activity, in response to some countries’ recognition of a Palestinian state, amid Norwegian speculation that the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank will collapse.
The current Israeli government consists of 3 decision-making bodies: the cabinet, the war council, and the expanded government.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a statement that the mini-ministerial council discussed taking measures to enhance settlement in the occupied West Bank.
According to the United Nations, settlements in the occupied territories are illegal and hinder the chances of a two-state solution. The United Nations has been calling for its cessation for years, without any response.
Netanyahu’s office also reported that the proposed measures come as a response to some countries’ unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state after last October 7.
Measures against the Palestinian Authority
Last May, Slovenia, Spain, Norway, and Ireland recognized the State of Palestine, bringing the number of countries recognizing it to 148 out of 193 member states in the United Nations General Assembly.
Netanyahu’s office added that the council discussed a set of steps that will be taken against the Palestinian Authority due to its activities against Israel in international forums.
Israel considers the Palestinian Authority responsible for the request of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
However, Defense Minister Gallant and government legal advisor Ghali Mayara requested time to provide their comments on some of the proposed steps.
Netanyahu directed that all proposals be put to a vote during the next cabinet session, without specifying a date, according to the statement, which did not specify the rest of the proposals.
The possibility of the collapse of the Palestinian Authority
In this context, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said that there is a real possibility of the collapse of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
These concerns were also issued by the administration of President Joe Biden, which expressed its concern about the possibility of the collapse of the Palestinian Authority if Israel does not transfer tax revenues to it, according to Axios.
A few days ago, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered the deduction of 35 million US dollars from the Palestinian Authority’s tax funds (clearance), and transferring them to Israeli families who claim that members of them were killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians.
Smotrich said, “The Palestinian Authority encourages terrorism and pays money to the families of terrorists, prisoners, and freed Palestinian prisoners,” stressing that Israel has deducted the same amounts paid by the Palestinian Authority from its funds, and will transfer them to the families of “victims of terrorism.”
Israel seeks to push the Palestinian Authority towards the brink of financial collapse by refusing to hand over the tax money it collects on behalf of the Authority, which represents 65% of its total revenues.
For the ninth month in a row, Israel is waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of more than 122,000 Palestinians, most of whom are children and women, in addition to more than 10,000 missing persons, amid massive destruction of infrastructure and famine that has caused the deaths of dozens, most of them children.
