Israel restores tax transfers to Palestinian Authority

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Israel's government says it will resume transferring tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Monday it would restart regular monthly tax transfers to the Palestinian Authority, restoring vital funding days after U.S. President Barack Obama called for confidence-building steps toward peace.

Israel began withholding the money - about $100 million in tax revenues it collects each month on behalf of the Authority - in November after President Mahmoud Abbas secured de facto U.N. recognition of Palestinian statehood.

The cut-off was a blow to Abbas who urgently needed the cash to pay public sector salaries at a time of growing financial strain. Officials had warned of possible unrest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank if wage arrears were not covered.

Under international pressure, Israel made a transfer in January and again in February, but said at the time decisions on whether to continue would be made on a month-by-month basis.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Monday said he had instructed Finance Minister Yair Lapid "to resume the transfers". A spokesman for Netanyahu said that meant regular monthly payments would be made from now on.

Obama made a three-day visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank last week and called for a resumption of peace negotiations that have been stalled since 2010.

The U.S. President said he wanted to see "steps that both Palestinians and Israelis can take to build trust and confidence upon which lasting peace will depend".

Palestinians seek a state in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with Arab East Jerusalem as its capital - territories Israel captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

Talks have stalled over the issue of Israel's continued building of settlements for its citizens in the occupied West Bank.

Abbas's Palestinian Authority exercises limited self rule in the West Bank under interim peace deals.

http://news.yahoo.com/israel-resume-tax-transfers-palestinians-140834367.html

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Making amends with both Turkey and the PA? Sounds like the US is about to back Israel's move against either Iran, or Syria, or both. With Kerry putting the heel on the Iraqis to prevent Iran from flying over it's territory on the way to support Syria, it looks like the pacifists on the US side of the deal are suddenly acting out of some sort of desperation, asking for whatever concessions they can. Bibi is taking Israel to war, probably within the next few months, and can't afford to fight off an Intifada at same time.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Making amends with both Turkey and the PA? Sounds like the US is about to back Israel's move against either Iran, or Syria, or both. With Kerry putting the heel on the Iraqis to prevent Iran from flying over it's territory on the way to support Syria, it looks like the pacifists on the US side of the deal are suddenly acting out of some sort of desperation, asking for whatever concessions they can. Bibi is taking Israel to war, probably within the next few months, and can't afford to fight off an Intifada at same time.

Might be Lebanon in the crosshairs...

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Or the USA and Obama would like to see a little peace and harmony and baby steps are the best way forward.

[JstaRebel 48]

Or the USA and Obama would like to see a little peace and harmony and baby steps are the best way forward.

Agreed.. Any small step forward is good.

But in reading the article regarding the tax transfers, it does not say if Israel will transfer the back monies due to Palestine and just states that they are restoring the transfer of tax revenues. I also wonder if Israel pays the interest that Israel collected on the withheld monies, or if they just keep it?

One last question, Why does Israel collect these monies in the first place? They are not Israels to collect from what I've read, let alone use as a tool to collectivly punish the Palestinian people whenever Israel sees fit to do so. It has to be hard enough for the Palestinian government without having to deal with Israel deciding if the Palestinians are going to recieve their own tax revenues.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Might be Lebanon in the crosshairs...

Why Lebanon? As much as Bibi likes to demonize Hezbollah, that front has been fairly quiet, now that Hezbollah has turned its attention toward Syria. Of course the last thing Israel would want, would be for Hezbollah, and the Shia Muslims, to gain control of Syria.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Why Lebanon? As much as Bibi likes to demonize Hezbollah, that front has been fairly quiet, now that Hezbollah has turned its attention toward Syria. Of course the last thing Israel would want, would be for Hezbollah, and the Shia Muslims, to gain control of Syria.

IDF turns attention to Lebanon as Syrian army falls apart

While Assad's forces have reportedly lost some 13,000 men, and some 40,000 soldiers have deserted, Iran and Hezbollah are gaining access to treasure trove of weapons in Syria.

The Israel Defense Forces has responded to the changing reality in Syria by adjusting its focus and training of forces to deal with Lebanon, rather than with Syria.

While the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad have reportedly lost some 13,000 men during that country's civil war and some 40,000 soldiers have deserted, Iran and Hezbollah are gaining access to the treasure trove of weapons in Syria. "They are trying and in some cases succeeding to obtain air defense capabilities, shore-to-sea missiles, surface-to-surface missiles and other capabilities," Military Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi told the Herzliya Conference recently. "Hezbollah and Iran understand that Assad's fate is sealed, and they're preparing for the day after."

So is the IDF, which is changing the assignments of some of its northern divisions to focus more on Lebanon. For example, last week two reserve brigades - one an armored brigade and the other an infantry brigade - practiced maneuvers for operating in Lebanon after years in which they had focused exclusively on the Syrian arena.

Moreover, until now the reservists in the Armored Corps had focused on training for tank battles. Now, the new challenge is dealing with anti-tank missiles, of which Hezbollah has thousands, according to military assessments.

...

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-turns-attention-to-lebanon-as-syrian-army-falls-apart.premium-1.511719#

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

So, Bibi sees easy pickin's in Southern Lebanon, now that Hezbollah's attentions are diverted elsewhere? Bashar would seem to be finding an unexpected ally in Israel. Definitely an unholy alliance, as Turkey, Syria, and Israel would be seen to be joining in a united front against the Shia to defend their collective borders.

[Pooky 3,723]

If President Assad is dead, assassinated by an Iranian bodyguard, anything could happen. The last thing anyone (apart from Iran) wants, is Iranian access to the sophisticated covential and chemical arsenal that Syria possesses.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

So, Bibi sees easy pickin's in Southern Lebanon, now that Hezbollah's attentions are diverted elsewhere? Bashar would seem to be finding an unexpected ally in Israel. Definitely an unholy alliance, as Turkey, Syria, and Israel would be seen to be joining in a united front against the Shia to defend their collective borders.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

So, Bibi sees easy pickin's in Southern Lebanon, now that Hezbollah's attentions are diverted elsewhere? Bashar would seem to be finding an unexpected ally in Israel. Definitely an unholy alliance, as Turkey, Syria, and Israel would be seen to be joining in a united front against the Shia to defend their collective borders.

Yep. That plus the easy pickings in Syria.

Israel general suggests buffer zone in a post-Assad Syria

(updated) 25/03/2013 19:54

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- An Israeli general has raised the possibility of creating a buffer zone in Syria, in cooperation with local forces wary of jihadist fighters, should President Bashar Assad be toppled.

Major-General Yair Golan said "many hundreds" of radical Islamists were fighting in Syria's two-year-old civil war and could "take root" in Israel's northern neighbor should Assad fall.

He said the Israeli military was working on the assumption that these fighters would ultimately launch attacks against Israel, which captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.

"One measure we certainly cannot rule out is to create a security zone on the other side of the border," Golan, head of the military's northern command, said in an interview published on Monday in the Yisrael Hayom daily.

Golan, who oversees Israeli forces on the Syrian and Lebanese frontiers, did not say whether he envisages the deployment of Israeli troops in such a buffer area.

Syrians "with a common interest in cooperating with us" against radical Islamist fighters would be Israel's natural allies in any such security zone, Golan said.

"If an opportunity presents itself -- and it hasn't as yet -- we should not hesitate," he said. "Everything should be done wisely and secretly, with a true examination of where the interests of the other side lie."

Golan pointed to the example of the "security zone" Israeli forces maintained for 15 years in southern Lebanon with the stated aim of keeping Hezbollah fighters and rockets away from Israel's border.

"The bottom line: (the buffer zone in Lebanon) was one of the most worthy security investments ever made by the State of Israel," he said about an area where Israeli troops were frequently under attack and which they left in 2000.

In recent months, a number of rockets fired during fighting between Syrian forces and rebels have fallen inside the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The strategic plateau is monitored by UN observers and had been quiet for decades.

Israel fired into Syria on Sunday, saying it destroyed a machine-gun post that had shot at Israeli soldiers in the Golan Heights.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=578742

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Or the USA and Obama would like to see a little peace and harmony and baby steps are the best way forward.

You mean nothing sinister behind all this? Impossible. We're talking about Obama here. Get with the program, will you?