JERUSALEM - Israel and the United States intend to use restrictions on banks to limit the ability of donors to transfer funds to a Palestinian unity government, senior Israeli and American sources said.International, regional and Palestinian banks will still be able to send funds directly to Palestinian President Mahmoud AbbasÂ’s office, as has been the case since Hamas Islamists came to power a year ago after winning a parliamentary election.
But the sources said in interviews this week that Israel and the United States were not prepared to give a green light to banks to resume transfers directly to the unity government, despite their close ties to the incoming finance minister, former World Bank official Salam Fayyad. “As long as the demands of the United States and the Quartet (of Middle East mediators) are not fulfilled, no money will be allowed to be transferred to the government itself. That’s the decision,” a senior Israeli security source involved in the effort told Reuters.
An American source close to the deliberations over the sanctions said: “The restrictions will remain in place.”
| Good. Someone still has a spine. |
The banking restrictions will make it difficult for Arab and European donors to sidestep the year-old aid embargo and send money directly to the unity government, which is expected to win parliamentary approval on Saturday. The EU is studying the option of funnelling money through the new finance minister, though it is unclear how that can be accomplished if banks wonÂ’t make transfers.