PA declines receipt of withheld tax funds, claims deficit
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that the PA refused to receive tax revenues collected on its behalf by Israel because the amount was “incomplete.”
“Israel recently said it would transfer [withheld tax revenue] funds, but the amount that was sent was incomplete, as Israel deducted was it billed as debts,” Abbas said at the inauguration of a new park in Ramallah.
“We didn’t accept the amount and sent it back: we told them that we either resort to arbitration regarding these funds that they label as debts, or take the matter to the International Criminal Court [ICC],” Abbas said.
Israel has been withholding tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority for the past three months.
The funds – around $175 million every month – makes up two thirds of overall Palestinian monthly revenues.
On Wednesday, Palestine officially joined the ICC after The Hague-based tribunal approved its accession bid.
In January, Palestinians formally delivered the UN papers ratifying the Rome Statute – the legal document establishing the court – with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon acting as “depository.”
The move came after an Arab draft resolution at the UN General Assembly seeking a deadline for ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories failed to win the nine votes needed to pass, with the US – Israel’s longstanding, veto-wielding ally – voting against it.
Shortly later, Abbas applied for Palestinian membership in 18 international treaties, including the Rome Statute.
The ICC was established in 1998 as a court of last resort to prosecute the most heinous offenses – such as war crimes and crimes against humanity – in cases where national court systems had failed.
