Published: Less than 10 min ago
Israel’s new government is preparing a series of measures aimed at the Palestinian leadership.
The statement comes from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Friday. The statement was made after a meeting with the Israeli Security Cabinet.
According to the statement, the measures are a response to Palestinian pressure for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to review the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.
A couple of weeks ago, the UN General Assembly voted through a resolution asking the ICJ to assess whether Israel has the legal right to act in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Israel’s Security Cabinet – a select group of ministers appointed by Netanyahu – describes the Palestinian Authority’s request as “a decision to launch a political and legal war against the State of Israel”.
The Israeli government, which is often described as ultra-nationalist and with political domicile far to the right, marks through the decisions a hard-line stance towards the Palestinian authorities.
“The current government will not sit still and watch this war, it will act when necessary” read the wording from the prime minister’s office.
Among several other measures, there is a freezing of a payment of 39 million dollars, equivalent to 417 million kroner, to the Palestinian authorities. The money will instead go to relatives of Israeli citizens killed in attacks carried out by Palestinian militants, according to the government.
Targeted measures, not fully specified, against Palestinian officials are also being prepared.