Israel to halt transfer of tax revenues to Pal Authority following ICC bid.

Israel to halt transfer of tax revenues to Pal Authority following ICC bid. (Haaretz).

Following discussions convened by PM Netanyahu, Israel plans to hold more than $127 million in funds collected on behalf of the Palestinians for the month of December.

Israel has decided to freeze the transfer of half a billion shekels (more than $127 million) in tax revenues collected on behalf of the Palestinians following the Palestinians' recent attempts to join the International Criminal Court, an Israeli official has told Haaretz.

"The funds for the month of December were due to pass on Friday, but it was decided to half the transfer as part of the response to the Palestinian move," the official said. Israel, he said, would not let the Palestinians' actions go unanswered. 

"We are a law-abiding nation that actively investigates its own conduct, and we can prove that easily." "So in regards to the international arena, we will not only defend ourselves against the Palestinians' actions, we will also go on the offensive. And when it comes to war crimes, we have quite a bit of ammunition – the butter is smeared all over the heads of Abbas and his friends. They chose to go out into the sun, and there will be a price for that." 

The decision is the result of a meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened Thursday to discuss Israel's response to the Palestinian Authority's application to join the ICC. Read the full story here.