Israeli Cabinet releases funds to Abbas
Monday, 25 June 2007
JERUSALEM, June 24 (AP): The Israeli Cabinet on Sunday approved the release of frozen tax funds to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, officials said, in a step to bolster the moderate leader in his standoff against the Islamic militant group Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asked the Cabinet to release the funds as part of a package of moves in support of Abbas. The vote came a day ahead of Olmert's meeting in Egypt Monday with Abbas, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and King Abdullah II of Jordan.
The summit is designed as a high-profile display of support for the Palestinian president against his Hamas rivals, who seized control of the Gaza Strip in a brutal rout of Abbas' Fatah movement earlier this month.
The infighting has left the Palestinians with two governments - Abbas' new government in the West Bank, and the Hamas rulers in Gaza.
The main proposal at Sunday's Cabinet meeting was a gradual release of some $550 million tax money that Israel has withheld from the Palestinians since Hamas swept Palestinian parliamentary elections in January 2006.
Israel considers Hamas a terrorist group. But now that Abbas has expelled the Islamic group from the Palestinian government, Olmert is expected to unfreeze the money.
"We are raising at today's Cabinet meeting a proposal to unfreeze funds we have been holding for a long period, Palestinian funds, in order to support in a phased process the new Palestinian government, which is not a Hamas government," Olmert told his ministers.
Meeting participants said the proposal passed with an overwhelming majority; just two hardline ministers voted against it. However, it remained unclear how much money Israel would release, or when it would do so. The participants spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement.
The money - mostly customs duties that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinians - has been withheld in an unsuccessful bid to pressure Hamas to recognize Israel's right to exist and renounce violence. Without the money, the Palestinian government has been unable to pay the salaries of its workers.
The Cabinet also discussed the removal of some of the hundreds of roadblocks Israel has erected throughout the West Bank, meeting participants said. The travel restrictions have been put in place on security grounds, though the Palestinians say they are excessive and punitive.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asked the Cabinet to release the funds as part of a package of moves in support of Abbas. The vote came a day ahead of Olmert's meeting in Egypt Monday with Abbas, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and King Abdullah II of Jordan.
The summit is designed as a high-profile display of support for the Palestinian president against his Hamas rivals, who seized control of the Gaza Strip in a brutal rout of Abbas' Fatah movement earlier this month.
The infighting has left the Palestinians with two governments - Abbas' new government in the West Bank, and the Hamas rulers in Gaza.
The main proposal at Sunday's Cabinet meeting was a gradual release of some $550 million tax money that Israel has withheld from the Palestinians since Hamas swept Palestinian parliamentary elections in January 2006.
Israel considers Hamas a terrorist group. But now that Abbas has expelled the Islamic group from the Palestinian government, Olmert is expected to unfreeze the money.
"We are raising at today's Cabinet meeting a proposal to unfreeze funds we have been holding for a long period, Palestinian funds, in order to support in a phased process the new Palestinian government, which is not a Hamas government," Olmert told his ministers.
Meeting participants said the proposal passed with an overwhelming majority; just two hardline ministers voted against it. However, it remained unclear how much money Israel would release, or when it would do so. The participants spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement.
The money - mostly customs duties that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinians - has been withheld in an unsuccessful bid to pressure Hamas to recognize Israel's right to exist and renounce violence. Without the money, the Palestinian government has been unable to pay the salaries of its workers.
The Cabinet also discussed the removal of some of the hundreds of roadblocks Israel has erected throughout the West Bank, meeting participants said. The travel restrictions have been put in place on security grounds, though the Palestinians say they are excessive and punitive.