Fatah: PA to fight Israeli economic ‘blockade’

Fatah spokesman: Int'l community would have to bear repercussions of the financial crisis in the Palestinian Authority.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Abbas in rally for UN bid 370 (photo credit: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman)
Abbas in rally for UN bid 370
(photo credit: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman)
The acute financial crisis in the Palestinian Authority will lead to a “popular explosion” in the face of Israel in any moment, Fatah spokesman Ahmed Assaf cautioned Thursday.
“The severe crisis is part of a collective punishment policy against the Palestinians” because of the UN vote in favor of upgrading the Palestinians’ status to non-member observer state, Assaf said.
He added that the situation is the result of Israel’s decision to confiscate Palestinians’ tax and customs revenues and the failure of the Arab countries to fulfill their promises to fund the PA.
“The Palestinian people will resist this blockade,” the Fatah spokesman said. “We won’t surrender or give up our rights. We also won’t remain silent toward those who are besieging us politically, financially and economically.”
Assaf said the international community would have to bear the repercussions of the financial crisis. He also urged the Arab countries to meet their commitments towards the Palestinians.
Nabil Abu Rudaineh, spokesman for PA President Mahmoud Abbas, declared Thursday that Israel would be held accountable for its “settlement crimes in the Palestinian territories.”
“The settlers and the Israeli government must know that they will be held accountable for settlement crimes,” Abu Rudaineh said, hinting at the possibility that the PA leadership would lodge a complaint against Israel with the UN’s International Criminal Court.
Abu Rudaineh pledged that “not one stone would remain from the hysterical settlement projects in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine.”