The Obama administration claimed that the Palestinian Authority and Israel have both taken steps in recent days that have antagonized each other, but on Monday it only publicly said that it has called on one to change tack.
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ application to join the International Criminal Court and Israel’s freezing of PA tax revenue in response both undermined the chances for a lasting peace. But while she said that the administration has lobbied the Palestinian Authority to change its mind, she didn’t say that it is doing the same with Israelis.
“We’ve certainly conveyed at high levels our view on the ICC action, and obviously we’d like to prevent it from moving forward,” she said, of US entreaties to Abbas’ administration. According a provision of budget bill passed at the end of last year, the US must withhold its financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority if it advances war crimes charges against Israel.
When asked by a reporter about whether American diplomats are asking Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to unfreeze tax revenues, Psaki said that they are “certainly conveying that this is a step that is one that raises tensions, as others do, and I’ll leave it at that.”
“It’s not just about specific day-by-day steps,” she had said prior to the comment about the fiscal punishment, “it’s about the larger picture and how to move forward.”
Psaki said the Obama administration continues to support a two-state solution, and that it “can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the two sides.”
The refusal to pressure Israel is consistent with past actions. Despite its position on a two state solution and the billions in annual aid to Israel given by the US, the White House has only offered timid criticism of the rapid expansion of Israeli settlements, and the theft of Palestinian land that it requires.
The money frozen by Israel amounts to $127 million in monthly tax revenue.
Abbas’ decision to join the ICC could see Israeli officials charged with war crimes over settlement expansion and the recent bombing campaign in Gaza–military action that killed more than 1,400 civilians. It could also lead to Palestinian militants being charged by the ICC with crimes related to indiscriminate rocket fire into Israel.
