Prime Minister in Ramallah Salam Fayyad said Thursday that Israel was trying to break the will of the Palestinian people by seizing their tax revenues through an "act of piracy."
The Palestinian Authority is trying to regain the revenues frozen by Israel in response to the Palestinian unity agreement, Fayyad said during a visit to a refugee camp in Bethlehem.
"The will of people will not be broken; they are determined to gain their freedom and independence by September," he said. "Suspending their tax revenues is simply an act of desperation.”
Israel announced the freeze on May 1, just days after President Mahmoud Abbas announced a reconciliation deal with Hamas aimed at ending years of enmity between the Islamist group and his secular Fatah.
The deal envisages the two sides working to set up a caretaker government of independents not allied to either faction which will govern until elections are held within a year.
The tax revenues make up two thirds of the Palestinian Authority's annual budget, excluding foreign aid.
The leadership in Ramallah voted Wednesday to ask for United Nations intervention.
"The executive committee has decided to turn to all international bodies, including the UN Security Council, to demand that Israel unblock Palestinian Authority funds," Palestine Liberation Organization official Yasser Abed Rabbo said after a meeting of the committee.
Earlier, Israel's finance minister brushed off international pressure over the freezing of tax revenue transfers to the Palestinians, warning that the Israel could take even harsher steps.
"The delay in transferring funds is a yellow card for the Palestinian Authority after the signing of the agreement with Hamas," Yuval Steinitz told public radio, referring to Israel's decision to delay the transfer of $86 million to the Palestinian Authority.
"Until now, it is a delay of a week to 10 days, but it could become a red card," he said, adding that Israel would decide what to do depending on "clarifications" from the Palestinians.
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