Israel’s new prime minister has agreed to allow the transfer of $12 million to the Gaza Strip, a quarter of the amount Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas requested, according to Middle East envoy Tony Blair.
Mr Blair met Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday. His right-leaning government took office last week.
Mr Blair wanted to seek support for measures to bolster Mr Abbas and his Western-backed government in the occupied West Bank, headed by prime minister Salam Fayyad.
“This is a welcome first step, but we need to ensure that larger transfers continue to be made as soon as possible and thereafter on a predictable basis, so that all the necessary payments can be made to help people in Gaza,” Mr Blair said.
Some right-wing groups in Israel oppose the cash transfers, asserting that Gaza’s Hamas Islamist rulers could benefit.
Palestinian officials in the West Bank say that assertion is unfounded, citing the use of safeguards, such as direct deposit, to prevent the money from going into unauthorised accounts.
Mr Blair’s office said Mr Netanyahu has agreed to the transfer of 50 million shekels ($12 million) from bank branches in the West Bank to bank branches in the Gaza Strip to help Mr Fayyad pay salaries and other beneficiaries.
Mr Abbas’s government had requested permission to transfer 200 million shekels ($48 million).
Israel has been under pressure for months from Mr Blair, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to lift its restrictions on cash transfers to the Gaza Strip, which Hamas Islamists seized by force in 2007 after routing forces loyal to Mr Abbas’s secular Fatah faction.
It was argued that Israel was undermining the Palestinian banking sector, making it harder for Gazans to cover basic needs and undermining Mr Abbas’ standing in the Hamas stronghold.
Since the end of Israel’s 22-day Gaza offensive in January, Hamas, which receives support from Iran, has paid salaries to its own workers. Mr Fayyad however has struggled to do so because of the shortage of currency in the territory.
In February, then-Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert allowed the transfer of $43 million to the Gaza Strip, compared to $58 million sought by Mr Fayyad at the time.
In December, Israel allowed armoured trucks carrying $25 million to enter Gaza.
Meanwhile, the new government’s controversial foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has been questioned by police for a third time on suspicion of bribery and money-laundering, a police spokesman said. Mr Lieberman, who heads the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu party, a major coalition partner in Mr Netanyahu’s government, has denied any wrongdoing and has called the police investigation a smear campaign.
Israeli media said Mr Lieberman was suspected of receiving bribes through a consulting firm run by his daughter.
Mr Lieberman had asked Israeli courts to have the investigation expedited, arguing that it was unreasonable for a public figure to be subjected to allegations which cast a stain on his image.
A spokeswoman said the investigation had been going on for 13 years. – (Reuters)