The new Israeli government approved harsh new sanctions on the Palestinian Authority (PA) in response to their request from the U.N.'s highest judicial body to give its opinion on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.
The Israeli sanctions against the Palestinian government came after the U.N. General Assembly voted in favor of Palestine's request for an expert opinion from the court last week.
The Israeli sanctions will, among other measures, freeze Palestinian construction projects in Zone C of the occupied West Bank, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Area C was placed under sole Israeli control as part of the Oslo Peace Accords in the 1990s and accounts for more than 60% of the total area of the occupied West Bank.
Human rights organizations have reported that Israel only issues Palestinians with building permits in Zone C in exceptional cases.
Israel will also seize 139 million shekels (about $39 million) in taxes collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and distribute the money to families of terror victims instead.
In addition, Israel plans to implement further measures against organizations that promote what it considers hostile or terrorist activities "under the guise of humanitarian work."
Last week, following an appeal by Palestine, the U.N. General Assembly asked the Hague-based World Court to give an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's 55-year-old occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem – areas the Palestinians want for a state – in the 1967 Middle East war. It withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but, along with neighboring Egypt, controls the enclave's borders. The PA has had limited self-rule in the West Bank under the 1990s interim peace deals.
The World Court is the top U.N. court dealing with disputes between states. Its rulings are binding, though it has no power to enforce them.
"These decisions are condemned and rejected both in relation to money and other measures they are planning," said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
