Israel pledges to prevent collapse of Palestinian Authority

Despite security cabinet agreement, no specific plans have been put in place to halt authority's demise

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas attending the Arab League Summit in Jeddah. May 19, 2023. SPA

Israel's security cabinet agreed on Sunday to "prevent the collapse of the Palestinian Authority" and demanded the group ends "its anti-Israel activity", the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

The pledge by Israeli ministers includes no specific plans and came days after a major military raid on the occupied West Bank city of Jenin that killed 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier.

In January, Israel's hard-right government announced sanctions against President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority, which nominally controls parts of the West Bank, over a push to get the UN's top court to issue an opinion on the Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said at the time that the sanctions were aimed at "pushing [the PA] to the brink, financially and institutionally", and were part of "a new war against the Palestinian people".

The Israeli security cabinet on Sunday voted on a "draft decision submitted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu", which says "Israel will act to prevent the collapse of the Palestinian Authority", the premier's office said

The declaration also demands that the PA "cease its anti-Israel activity in the international legal-diplomatic arena", as well as "incitement" and "illegal construction in Area C" of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli control.

It is almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain construction permits in Area C, which covers about 60 per cent of the occupied territory.

Violence in Jenin - in pictures

Another demand was to stop "payments to the families of terrorists".

That referred to stipends provided by the PA to families of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops and to families of prisoners in Israeli jails, or the inmates themselves, including those convicted of killing Israelis.

As part of the sanctions imposed in January, Israel withheld dozens of millions of dollars in tax revenues from the PA over its financial support for militants.

The Israeli government also ordered a moratorium on Palestinian building plans in parts of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

The statement on Sunday said Mr Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant would present "steps to stabilise" the embattled PA.

Israeli media said the proposed measures may include the establishment of industrial zones for Palestinians in Area C of the West Bank, and other moves to support the Palestinian economy.