Israel sanctions Palestinian government over ICJ investigation into legality of settlements

6 Jan. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Israeli Government has approved this Friday a round of sanctions against the Palestinian Authority after the success of the Palestinian Government for the International Court of Justice to investigate the legality of Israeli settlements in occupied territory.

This decision comes after the United Nations General Assembly asked the ICJ, at the Palestinian request, to urgently rule on the “legal status of the occupation” and “annexation” of Palestinian territories by Israel.

In a resolution approved with 87 votes in favor, 26 against and 53 abstentions, the UN thus requested the international court to express its opinion and mediate in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The measures include the “seizure” of nearly 40 million euros in tax collections that the Israeli government makes on behalf of the Palestinian authorities.

Another sanction will also prohibit the Palestinian Authority from using money collected for the families of individuals accused by Israel of committing terror attacks in 2022.

As regards the rest of the sanctions, Israel has decided to halt the construction of Palestinian homes in area C of the West Bank, under Israeli control, and to eliminate the treatment of dignitaries for the Palestinian officials implicated in the ICJ petition.

Likewise, the ministers of the Israeli Government have approved the application of future measures against those organizations in the West Bank that “promote terrorist activities”, among them that act “under the guise of humanitarian activity”, according to the conclusions collected by the ‘Times of Israel ‘.