Post by Moses on Feb 9, 2006 16:00:41 GMT -5
Show Me The Money!
According to the 1994 Cairo Accords (the first of several post-Oslo agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization) Israel maintained collection of taxes from Palestinians employed in Israel and agreed to forward the revenues directly to the Palestinian Authority (PA). In the years since the agreement was signed, however, Israel has occasionally withheld the money as a form of political pressure on the PA. In response to the results of the recent Palestinian elections, the Israeli government threatened to again withhold the funds. But as Stanley Fischer, the governor of Israel's central bank, told Israel Radio, "I tend to believe that agreements are meant to be honored." Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recently agreed to transfer the payments until the new Palestinian cabinet is formed. The bottom line is that these revenues are not optional foreign assistance. It is money due to the PA, which is used to for payroll (including security services). The issue should not even be up for debate.
According to the 1994 Cairo Accords (the first of several post-Oslo agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization) Israel maintained collection of taxes from Palestinians employed in Israel and agreed to forward the revenues directly to the Palestinian Authority (PA). In the years since the agreement was signed, however, Israel has occasionally withheld the money as a form of political pressure on the PA. In response to the results of the recent Palestinian elections, the Israeli government threatened to again withhold the funds. But as Stanley Fischer, the governor of Israel's central bank, told Israel Radio, "I tend to believe that agreements are meant to be honored." Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recently agreed to transfer the payments until the new Palestinian cabinet is formed. The bottom line is that these revenues are not optional foreign assistance. It is money due to the PA, which is used to for payroll (including security services). The issue should not even be up for debate.