Skip to main content

Why Israel's PA tax freeze will backfire

Israeli politicians cling to the assumption that punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority will create deterrence and prevent its leadership from diplomatic moves, not realizing that such an approach causes Israel strategic damage.
A Palestinian protester argues with Israeli soldiers during a weekly protest against Israeli settlements in the village of Maasara, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, January 2, 2015. 
REUTERS/ Mussa Qawasma (WEST BANK  - Tags: CIVIL UNREST MILITARY POLITICS) - RTR4JW3V
Read in 

There’s nothing that a proud Israeli such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for example, hates more than being a sucker. The prime minister even knows how to say in Farsi, “We are not suckers.” An Israeli who stands tall like Netanyahu does not ignore an attempt by the cheeky neighbors to turn the West Bank and East Jerusalem — or rather, Judea and Samaria and united Jerusalem, Israel’s eternal capital — into an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders. A “strong leader” such as Netanyahu does not just move on after the Palestinian Authority (PA) dares request to join the International Criminal Court (ICC). He’s not some sort of defeatist who gives thanks for rain whenever someone spits at him. All he needs now is Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett to produce a clip portraying him as a leftist who apologizes to non-Jews.

It is worth noting Netanyahu is not threatening that if the Palestinians submit complaints of Israeli war crimes to the ICC, they will be forced to contend with far worse complaints Israel will submit against them. The prime minister undoubtedly understands that the very act of complaint to the court against a resident of the PA, based on the Rome Statute, constitutes recognition that the PA is a state. In November 2012, Israel even strenuously objected to the upgrading of the PA’s status from that of observer to a nonmember state at the UN. A senior Foreign Ministry official told Al-Monitor over the weekend that although Israel has an excellent “case” against the PA, especially given that it formed a reconciliation government with Hamas, legal experts recommend keeping a safe distance from the ICC.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.