Israel Freezes PA Tax Transfers. That's Bad. But It Does Make Sense.

Okay, now this is really getting complicated. Apparently there were some earlier agreements that obligated Israel to release tax transfer monies to the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. The current amount in question is $100 Million. Israel stopped sending it over since UNESCO voted earlier in favor of admitting the Palestinians into the organization.

The tax are due to various trade and tariff taxes. Israel is on thin ice here morally. The issue is this: Israel technically owes the PA these funds and she and the world know it.

But the PA is trying to woo and reconcile with Hamas (the Palestinian group out of Lebanon that refuses to recognize Israel and wants to eliminate it off the face of the earth not unlike the wishes and desires of Iran that backs Hamas financially and otherwise).

So Israel must be thinking that inasmuch as your friends are my enemies, you (PA and Fatah) need to decide between them (Hamas) and me (Israel). And if you decide for them, that makes you my enemy and we're at war. War is war. I keep the money.

Meanwhile Israel claims to be just holding on to it until it sees what happens this Thursday once Hamas and Fatah finish some key talks on reconciliation.

Clearly if there's no deal and there is evidence that there won't be one any time soon, Israel should give the PA the money they had agreed to. But if there is a deal or one is still being pursued, it will be a moot point as sooner or later all hell will break out and since no one is really going to go to bat for Israel, it won't matter whether they held on to the money or not.  They could like use it to buy some more arms which they'll need.

When you add the world's pressure on Israel to hand over the money, the plot thickens. But of course there's also the pressure that Israel is trying to impose on America and the other so-called friendlier countries to go after Iran, and this may just be it's best leverage card.

All this to say this will be a very interesting spot to watch in the next few weeks leading up to Christmas.

World pushes Israel to release fu... JPost - Diplomacy & Politics

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Have the Palestinians Hit a Dead End at the UN?

Whether it is the written lines or the spoken ones, it appears that the PA has hit a road block for now on its bid to get statehood at the UN. Their choices are simple: try it again, go for recognition with UN agencies, as they did with UNESCO recently (but of course that cut off a lot of aid from the U.S. and stopped any increases of aid from countries like Canada), or they can get good and mad and turn to more radical segments of Islam for support -- i.e. Iran who is currently busy pursuing nuclear arms.

What is interesting in this short article and video clip is how the various parties at the Security Council are currently voting or not. Also, of interest, is how all this will play out for Mahmoud Abbas, the PA president and his Fatah party.

Of course, what really matters is what all this means for the peace of Jerusalem in the long run. By the way when you watch the video, presented by Al Jareeza no less, of how tough life really seems for the Palestinians. I didn't see too much hardship but if you do, let us know.

Palestinians mull next statehood step - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

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PA statehood bid on (indefinite?) hold.

Wondering what's going on with the United Nations' Security Council vote on admitting the Palestinians into the UN? This article tells you as much as there is to know. Take a look.

PA statehood bid on hold as UNSC ... JPost - Diplomacy & Politics


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Stakes Get Higher vs. the U.S. re. upcoming vote and veto on Palestinian state. PLO threatens U.S. big time.

Well, isn't this just wonderful.  The PA -- the supposedly nicer, more reasonable faction of the two (or is it three) entities that represent Palestinians has taken the following action:

It has said it will go for full membership at the UN next week, forcing the US to veto the proposal at the Security Council, and suffer the ire of the majority of the world.  Okay, that's fair politics.  But today the PLO took the next step.

The PLO is now threatening the US that if they veto, they can kiss the possibility of a "two-state" solution good-bye.  The PLO says it may even consider dismantling the PA and allowing its more radical counter-part, Hamas, to take over.  Hamas wants to eliminate Israel and have the Palestinians take over all the land the Israelis now occupy.   The stakes keep getting higher.

And by the way, in case you missed the intricacies of the difficulty the U.S. and Obama in particular are in, the PLO now says the very reason they are going to the U.N. is because "Obama, in his last speech to the UN in 2010, talked about the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state within one year."

The PA's Abbas efforts to reach an agreement through negotiations have hit a dead end, blaming Israel of course for stubbornness.  Abbas insists the long-term plan is to have a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.   He agrees that the PLO will continue to be the official representative of all the Palestinians in the meantime.


Palestinians are being called to the streets for a major protest on September 21 (Wednesday), but also to avoid violence in order to not give the Israelis "any excuses to ignite the region" -- nice shifting of blame, isn't it?  Obama has done more than inspire them, he seems to have taught them some great propaganda tactics.  Or, wait, maybe he learned them from them.

Finally, the PLO intends to insure all Palestinian refugees have the "right of return" to their original homes inside Israel.  (Of course, no mention of the Jews that have been moved from their original homes as Israel ceded more and more land over the decades of negotiations.)


Now you know my perspective, but please do read the write-up directly.  Then let us know your views.  Clearly hundreds have commented on the link itself after the article.  What we need to watch for is exactly how the U.S. and the POTUS will handle this situation.  The minute hand depicting the timing of the "end of the world" clock is possibly considering a slight move, depending on what happens next week.


PA to US: Statehood veto would 'd... JPost - Diplomacy & Politics

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