Israel holds back cash transfers to Palestinian Authority
The Netanyahu government has blocked the monthly transfer of collected taxes to the Palestinian Authority as further punishment for Mahmoud Abbas’s application to the UN for nonmember status which was approved last Thursday. The NIS.460 million was earmarked for public sector wages. Finance Minister Yuval Steinetz said this amount would cover PA debts to the Israel Electric Corp. UN Secretary joined US and several European governments in slamming Israel for its decision to build an extra 3,000 homes in Jerusalem and the West Bank and expediting planning for the area linking Jerusalem and Maaleh Adummim.