Abbas rejects Israel's partial transfer of Palestinian tax revenue

GAZA

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gestures as he speaks during the opening ceremony of a park in the West Bank city of Ramallah April 5, 2015.

Reuters/Mohamad Torokman

(Reuters) - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday Israel had released frozen tax revenue to the Authority but that he had ordered the funds to be returned because money had been deducted to cover debts to Israeli utility companies.
Israel started withholding around $130 million a month in tax and customs revenue in December. The move came after the Palestinians announced that they were joining the International Criminal Court (ICC), a move finalised on April 1.
Under international pressure, Israel agreed last week to resume the transfers, saying it would immediately pay around $400 million, the withheld revenue minus the amount owed by the Palestinians for utilities supplied by Israel.
Abbas said those deductions amounted to a third of the total sum that Israel owed the Palestinians.

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