Netanyahu discusses release of Palestinian tax revenues with cabinet

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is expected to meet a number of senior cabinet members to decide on the release of USD 100 million in Palestinian tax revenues that Israel has been withholding since two months ago, the Jerusalem Post reported on Wednesday."It was not immediately clear whether Netanyahu would convene his forum of eight senior ministers to decide on the matter, or whether it would be raised at the weekly security cabinet meeting of 14 ministers," said the Jerusalem Post, adding that one senior government source said, "The prime minister has a majority in both forums for freeing up the funds." However, it is expected that Netanyahu would face an opposition from his Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who has come out clearly against the move, added the Jerusalem Post. It noted that Lieberman said on Monday that his Israel Beiteinu party would "do everything possible" to prevent the transfer of the funds.Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday that he supported transferring the money at this time because the situation with the Palestinians had "calmed down," and the Palestinian Authority has at least temporarily put a hold on seeking statehood recognition in various UN bodies, said the Jerusalem Post.Also, the decision to freeze the money, which according to EU numbers makes up some 30 percent of the Palestinian Authority budget, was taken at the beginning of the month after UNESCO voted to accept the Palestinians as a full member.In addition to freezing the funds, Israel also decided to react to that move by accelerating the building of some 2,000 housing units in Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, as well as in Efrat and Ma'aleh Adumim.The Jerusalem Post continued that Netanyahu has come under intensive international pressure over the past couple of weeks to transfer the money, with one argument being that the funds pay the salaries of the Palestinian authority security apparatuses.