Israel approves punitive response to Palestinian moves at ICJ

Israel’s right-wing government says it has approved a series of punitive measures in response to a Palestinian bid to push the International Court of Justice to give its opinion on the decades-old occupation.

The measures announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing security cabinet on Friday include using Palestinian money to compensate the families of Israeli settlers and soldiers who were attacked by Palestinians, and imposing a moratorium on Palestinian construction in some areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu’s office said the measures were a “response to the Palestinian Authority’s decision to wage political and legal war against the State of Israel”.

In a tweet, Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right security minister, said he hopes that more measures will be taken “against those who support terrorism and try to put pressure on Israel”.

Israel, which collects tax money on behalf of the PA, would use 139 million shekels ($39m) from PA funds to compensate victims of Palestinian armed attacks and would also offset the stipends the PA pays to Palestinians who carried out attacks and their families, said Netanyahu’s office.

The moratorium on Palestinian building, it said, would apply to a part of the West Bank called Area C, which accounts for 60 percent of the occupied territory and is under full Israeli control.

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