Israel Approves Punitive Response to Palestinian ICJ Move

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Facts

  • Under PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government, the Israeli Security Cabinet said Friday it would impose punitive measures against Palestine in response to the Palestinian Authority's (PA) request for the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) to give its opinion on Israeli presence and policies in Palestine.
  • The measures include withholding $39M from the PA and instead transferring the funds to families of Israeli victims of alleged Palestinian attacks, as well as denying top PA officials permits they typically receive that allow them to travel easily in and out of the West Bank.
  • The punitive measures will also see Israel — which collects tax money on behalf of the PA — deduct tax money it had been giving to families of Palestinian assailants imprisoned in Israel.
  • This comes a week after the UN General Assembly approved a resolution asking the ICJ to give an opinion on the legality of Israeli policies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
  • Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War. Although it withdrew from Gaza in 2005, it controls the enclave's border in conjunction with Egypt.

Sources: Associated Press, Abc, Al-monitor, and Al Jazeera.

Narratives

  • Pro-Palestine, as provided by Truthout. Though Israel and the West won't admit it, the ongoing Palestinian occupation is a clear-cut policy of apartheid. With Netanyahu’s new majority-Zionist government, the oppression of Palestinians will only intensify as it faces less political opposition. What Netanyahu could only dream of in the past will now be written into law, which only means further deterioration of human rights.
  • Pro-Israel, as provided by JPost. It's time for Israel to focus on eradicating the Palestinian goal of eliminating the Jewish state. Though a two-state solution is possible, Palestine has clearly shown an inability to govern itself. Instead of defensively responding to each Palestinian attack, Israel should simply cut political and economic ties with its enemy neighbors and focus on protecting itself.