Economic sanctions against the Palestinian National Authority
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Economic sanctions against the Palestinian National Authority were imposed by Israel and the Quartet on the Middle East following the January 2006 legislative elections that democratically brought Hamas to power.[1]
The sanctions consist of (1) withholding of tax revenues collected in the Palestinian territories by Israel[2], (2) cutoff of international aid to the Palestinian National Authority from the Quartet countries, (3) restrictions by Israel of movement within the Palestinian territories and of goods moving in and out, and (4) U.S. banking restrictions.
Israel and the Quartet have said that sanctions would be lifted only when the Palestinian government has met the following demands:
- Renunciation of violence,
- Recognition of Israel by the Hamas government (as had the PLO), and
- Acceptance of previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority.
Following the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Israel and the Quartet countries eased some of the sanctions on the West Bank, in order to support the Fatah government, while at the same time tightening the blockade of the Gaza Strip, in order to put pressure on the Hamas administration.
Contents |
[edit] After the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip
On June 16, 2007, United States Consul-General Jacob Walles said that the U.S. was planning to lift the ban on direct aid to the emergency government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Similarly, the Quartet voiced support for Abbas and concern for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, though they did not announce any change in the ban on direct aid. Some Israeli officials said $300 to $400 million in Palestinian tax revenues may be returned to the Palestinian National Authority, short of the $700 million Abbas was seeking.[3] Indeed, on June 25, 2007, Israel agreed to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues it had seized to the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in order to support the Fatah government.[4]
[edit] Gaza blockade
Following the Hamas takeover, Israel sealed its border crossing with Gaza, on the grounds that Fatah was no longer providing security, and imposed a blockade on the territory, prohibiting all exports and allowing only enough goods to avert a humanitarian or health crisis.[5]
On March 7, 2008, several international aid groups, including Amnesty International, CARE International UK, and Oxfam, issued a report saying that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip was more acute than at any time since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967. They urged Israel to lift the blockade, characterizing it as collective punishment against the 1.5 million residents of the territory.[6]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Hamas Leader Faults Israeli Sanction Plan", The New York Times, 2006-02-18.
- ^ "Israel to impose Hamas sanctions", BBC News, 2006-02-19.
- ^ Reuters. "U.S. To Lift Sanctions on New Abbas Government", New York Times, 2007-06-16.
- ^ Isabel Kershner. "Israel to Transfer Funds From Taxes to Aid Abbas", New York Times, June 25, 2007.
- ^ Isabel Kershner. "Abbas’s Premier Tells Israel to Reopen Gaza", New York Times, 2007-12-14.
- ^ Tim Butcher. "Human crisis in Gaza 'is worst for 40 years'", Daily Telegraph, 2008-03-07.
