Why is Israel sending Palestinian taxes to Norway?
On Sunday, Israel approved a plan to send taxes earmarked for Gaza to Norway instead of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Since November, taxes that would ordinarily be sent to Gaza have been frozen by the Israeli government. Under the terms of a deal reached in the 1990s, Israel collects tax on behalf of the Palestinians and makes monthly transfers to the PA pending the approval of the Ministry of Finance. While the PA was ousted from the Gaza Strip in 2007, many of its public sector employees in the enclave kept their jobs and continued to be paid with transferred tax revenues. Weeks after the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, Israel took the decision to withhold payments earmarked for those employees in the Gaza Strip on the grounds that they could fall into the hands of Hamas. Now, Israel says it will instead send the frozen funds to Norway. “The frozen funds will not be transferred to the Palestinian Authority, but will remain in the hands of a third country,” the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement released on Sunday. Why does Israel control Palestinian tax revenue? The system by which taxes and customs duties are collected by Israel on behalf of the PA and transferred to the authority on a monthly basis was agreed in a 1994 accord. Known as the Paris Protocol, the accord was meant to manage the economic relationship between Israel and the Palestinian territories it occupied until a final peace settlement was reached between the two states. Approved in the wake of the optimism generated by the Oslo Accords, which were publicly ratified by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at the White House in September 1993, this protocol was supposed to end within five years. However, 30 years later, the financial settlement continues to give the Israeli state what the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has called “a disproportionate influence on the collection of Palestinian fiscal revenue, leading to deficiencies in the structure and collection of customs duties resulting from direct and indirect importing into Palestine”. How much money is Israel withholding? The tax revenues collected by Israel on behalf of the PA amount to around $188m each month, and account for 64 percent of the authority’s total revenue. A large portion of this is used to pay the salaries of the estimated 150,000 PA employees working in the West Bank and Gaza, despite it having no jurisdiction over the Strip. On November 3, the Israel security cabinet voted to withhold a total of $275m in Palestinian tax revenues, including cash collected for prior months that was still with Tel Aviv. “The PA is not clear about how much of the tax revenues go to Gaza – it’s a black box,” Rabeh Morrar, director of research at the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute-MAS, told Al Jazeera. “Sometimes they say 30 percent, sometimes 40, sometimes 50.” Under terms set by Israel’s cabinet on Sunday, the monthly tax revenue previously allocated to PA staff in Gaza will instead be transferred to a Norwegian-based trust account. However, that money cannot be released by the fund to pay workers in Gaza without permission from Israel. The only member of the Israeli government to oppose plans to send the funds to Norway was far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who insisted that the initiative “does not guarantee that the money will not reach the Nazis from Gaza”. How does Israel exercise ‘disproportionate influence’ over the PA? The Israeli state has often used its control of the PA’s tax revenues as a means to blackmail and punish the authority. In January 2023, for instance, the newly-formed Israeli government – seen as the most far-right coalition government in the country’s history – decided to withhold $39m in tax revenues from the PA following the authority’s decision to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to rule on the legality of Israel’s decades-long occupation. “Israeli blackmailing of our tax revenues will not stop us from continuing our political and diplomatic struggle,” said Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh at the time after Israel’s security cabinet had earlier described the PA’s ICJ move as a “decision to wage political and legal war against the State of Israel”. What effect has Israel’s withdrawal of public money had on Palestine? “The PA owes billions in internal debt to local banks, hospitals, medical companies and the private sector,” said Morrar. “There are also debts [owed], for example, for privately owned buildings rented out by the government. They have not been able to pay those back.” In 2021, the PA’s financial crisis, exacerbated by Israel’s periodic refusal to pay the PA its total tax revenue share pre-October 7, prompted it to reduce all salaries by 25 percent. Since November, when Israel decided to freeze funds earmarked for Gaza, the PA has refused to accept any money at all in protest. Against the backdrop of Israel’s continued bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 25,000 Palestinians since October 7, and as a result of its decision to refuse Israel’s terms, the PA has not been able to pay employee salaries for a month and a half. While some reports have emerged that the PA may be about to relent and agree to receive partial payments from Israel, which would release some much-needed funds to many of its cash-strapped staff, the occupied West Bank remains at the mercy of Israeli diktats. Indeed, Israel suspended the work permits of some 130,000 day workers from the occupied West Bank after the war began. And a total of 355 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, including in occupied East Jerusalem, by Israeli forces and Israeli settlers since October 7. Adblock test (Why?)
UN expert says Gaza might already be in famine
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Blinken hails Ivory Coast fight against armed groups on West Africa tour
The US diplomat is on a four-nation tour after months of being occupied by the Middle East crisis. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday praised the Ivory Coast for choosing a less militarised approach to security during his four-nation tour to rally African democracies as crises engulf the region. In the capital Abidjan, the top United States diplomat hailed the Ivory Coast’s stand against last year’s coup in Niger and its approach of “building security together” by investing economically to combat rebel violence in northern areas bordering Mali and Burkina Faso. “I have to applaud the approach that’s been taken by Cote d’Ivoire – working with communities, listening to communities, making sure that their security forces understand the needs, the concerns of communities,” Blinken said alongside the Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara. “I think that can serve as a very powerful model for other countries.” The Ivory Coast has not experienced a major armed attack in two years, despite being bordered by Sahel countries fighting insecurity. Blinken nonetheless promised to boost cooperation on the ground with the Ivory Coast, largely the training of security forces. He said the US would provide an additional $45m to West African nations as part of a plan to battle instability, bringing total funding under the year-old programme to nearly $300m. Ouattara, a veteran leader who has won US praise for consolidating democracy, expressed appreciation for the US assistance and voiced alarm over a spate of coups in West Africa. “Like the United States, we are very committed to democracy and justice,” he said, promising that his government would do “everything possible to improve people’s day-to-day lives.” Blinken met with Ouattara before heading to Abuja to see Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, elected last year on a platform of economic reforms. Both West African nations have largely stood by the US – as has another key partner, Kenya – despite unease in much of the continent over the Western focus on arming Ukraine and, more recently, US support for Israel’s war with Hamas. Their stance stands in contrast with another heavyweight, South Africa, which the US has accused of allowing arms shipments to Russia and which most recently annoyed Washington by bringing a genocide case against Israel before the International Court of Justice. On this trip, Blinken will visit another Southern African country – Angola, which is playing a vital role in mediation to end unrest in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. And on Monday, he stopped in Cape Verde, a long-standing partner of the US. Blinken has sought to showcase a softer side during his trip. On Monday, he attended a football match in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations between Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea, when his hosts gifted him an Ivorian orange jersey bearing his name. Blinken, who has been occupied by the Middle East crisis, is making his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa in 10 months. On his last visit to the region, he travelled to Niger to bolster elected President Mohamed Bazoum. Four months later, the army deposed Bazoum. Adblock test (Why?)
Mumbai civic body razes ‘illegal’ shops in Mira Road days after clashes
The action came a day after Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis warned of strict action against rioters.
Ex-Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur to be awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously
He was known for championing the cause of the backward classes.
Who was Karpoori Thakur, former Bihar CM conferred with Bharat Ratna posthumously?
Karpoori Thakur , the Former Chief Minister Of Bihar and champion of the cause of backward classes has been awarded Bharat Ratna (posthumously).
Chip Roy urges Texas officials to ignore Supreme Court order on border razor wire: ‘Go to hell’
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is calling on Lone Star State officials to ignore a recent Supreme Court order that cleared the way for federal officials to cut down razor wire placed along the border on Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s orders. “They have a duty under the Constitution… and every other norm of leadership of any sovereign state, to protect your citizens, period, full stop. There is no exception to that,” Roy told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “And if the Supreme Court wants to ignore that truth, which a slim majority did, Texas still had the duty, Texas leaders still have the duty, to defend their people.” “It’s like, if someone’s breaking into your house, and the court says, ‘Oh, sorry. You can’t defend yourself.’ What do you tell the court? You tell the court to go to hell, you defend yourself and then figure it out later.” WATCH: MIGRANTS CLAIM ASYLUM ON COLD JANUARY NIGHT AS CBP UNION LEADER TALKS BORDER CRISIS Roy said earlier on X, “This opinion is unconscionable and Texas should ignore it on behalf of the [Border Patrol] agents who will be put in a worse position by the opinion and the Biden administration’s policies.” The Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision on Monday allowing Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents to resume destruction of barbed wire placed by Texas officials along the Rio Grande to deter migrants from trying to cross into the U.S. illegally. The one-page order, which did not offer any explanation, is a win for the Biden administration amid an ongoing standoff with Texas over how to handle the border crisis. The administration said the wire endangered lives and impeded federal officials in performing their duties. ‘SENSE OF HOPELESSNESS’: MICHAEL MCCAUL SOUNDS ALARM ON BORDER PATROL MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS When asked about the lack of an explanation, Roy targeted the two conservative justices who voted with the court’s three liberals. “I mean, I don’t know. You gotta go talk to John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett. There’s no excuse for it,” Roy told Fox News Digital. National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd argued the decision would encourage more illegal immigration. “Agents support what Texas was trying to accomplish in the absence of true border security policies from this administration,” he said. KEY REPUBLICAN COMES OUT IN FAVOR OF IMPEACHING MAYORKAS, SAYS HE SHOULD BE ‘TRIED FOR TREASON’ The razor wire was put up as part of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, an initiative aimed at empowering Texas law enforcement to crack down on the migrant crisis that’s sent local and state governments across the country into crisis over strained resources and space. “This is not over,” Abbott vowed on X. “I will continue to defend Texas’ constitutional authority to secure the border and prevent the Biden Admin from destroying our property.” Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report
Nebraska Speaker of Legislature asks lawmakers to leave behind last year’s hostilities
Almost a year after Nebraska lawmakers drew national attention for a bitter feud that saw left-leaning senators filibuster nearly every bill, the speaker of the Legislature vowed Monday to do more to avoid another quagmire this session. Speaker of the Legislature Sen. John Arch said he will still follow the timetable that allows several hours of debate over three rounds of voting, but if he determines a filibuster is “exceedingly obstructive,” he’ll allow a vote to end it sooner. “I believe last year was an aberration, and we all need to hit the reset button for this session,” Arch said on the floor of the Legislature on the first full day of bill debate this session. “So far, I believe we have done that.” NEBRASKA SEN. FISCHER SLAMS ‘HIGHLY TROUBLING’ BORDER RAILWAY OPERATIONS SUSPENSION: ‘ECONOMIC CRISIS’ Nebraska has the country’s only single-chamber, nonpartisan Legislature, although lawmakers self-identify as Republican, Democrat or independent. Currently 32 of the 49 lawmakers are Republicans, which is one less than the 33 votes needed to stop debate on a filibuster. That means that unless one of the body’s 15 Democrats or its lone independent defects, Republicans can’t get past the filibuster to pass a bill. During the last session, Omaha state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh led an epic filibuster of nearly every bill debated — even ones she supported — in an effort to derail a measure to ban gender-confirming medical care for minors. An amended version of that bill, which restricted care for transgender people under 19 in Nebraska and folded in a 12-week abortion ban, eventually passed and was signed by the governor. Filibusters are rare in most state legislatures, but it’s a common tactic in Nebraska to force compromise on contested bills, which must survive three rounds of debate to pass. Even so, last year’s streak of filibusters is the longest in the state’s history. The division over the majority’s push last year for conservative agenda issues — targeting LGBTQ+ rights and abortion access, as well as offering taxpayer money for private school tuition and banning some books in public schools — led to one of the Nebraska Legislature’s most acrimonious sessions on record. As the filibuster effort played out, lawmakers called each other “trash” and “garbage,” exchanged accusations of unethical behavior, and angrily swore retribution. That included a promise by Bayard Sen. Steve Erdman, chairman of the body’s Rules Committee, to enact a slate of changes to weaken the filibuster. While some rules changes were enacted last week, including one limiting lawmakers to 20 bill introductions each per session, Erdman’s proposal to loosen the number of votes needed to overcome a filibuster was not brought up before the time allotted for debate on the rules changes ended. Cavanaugh said Monday that she’s not planning a repeat of last year. She said she’ll filibuster only those bills she opposes, including one that would restrict transgender student participation in high school sports and limit trans students’ access to bathrooms and locker rooms. “It makes no difference to me if the vote is called sooner or later,” she said. “They still have to get enough votes to end debate.”
Democrats clash over calls for Israel-Palestine cease-fire at California Senate debate
Candidates vying to be the next United States senator from California were divided over support for an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war during a debate Monday. Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee and Katie Porter staked positions to the left of Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Republican Steve Garvey, a former baseball player and political newcomer, with Schiff and Garvey refusing to call for a cease-fire. Lee said the Israeli offensive in Gaza, which has claimed thousands of lives, is “counterproductive to Israel’s security.” “The only way Israel is going to be secure is through a permanent cease-fire. The only way that is going to happen is with a political and diplomatic solution,” Lee said. CALIFORNIA SENATE CANDIDATES GANG UP ON LONE REPUBLICAN ON STAGE DURING DEBATE: ‘ALWAYS A DODGER’ Israel went to war against Hamas in response to the Oct. 7 terror attack orchestrated by the Palestinian terrorist group, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed. The Hamas-led Palestinian health ministry in Gaza has claimed Israel has killed more than 25,000 people since the war started, although Hamas does not distinguish between civilian and military casualties, and its reported figures cannot be independently verified. Referring to the Palestinian casualty count, Lee said Israel’s offensive has been “catastrophic” and said “it will never lead to peace for the Israelis nor the Palestinians.” The topic of Israel highlighted strong differences between the four candidates. Schiff, who has led recent polls, would not call for a cease-fire. He reminded the audience that Hamas did not just murder Israelis but committed “rape and torture.” “The magnitude of that horror is still shocking to me,” he said. “No country, after having been attacked by terrorists like Israel was on October 7, no country could refuse to defend itself. It has a duty to defend itself.” ADAM SCHIFF ENDORSED FOR SENATE AS ‘TEAM PLAYER’ BY LA TIMES: ‘PRACTICED IN THE ART OF COMPROMISE’ After stating it is not “incompatible with human nature” to grieve for losses on both sides, Schiff said Hamas cannot remain in power in Gaza. “They are still holding over 100 hostages, including Americans. I don’t know how you can ask any nation to cease-fire when their people are being held by a terrorist organization,” he said. In rebuttal, Lee warned that the Israel-Hamas conflict may “spiral out of control” into a larger regional conflict if there is not an immediate cease-fire. “We have to make sure that our national security is also protected,” Lee said. “And in fact, as this war escalates, as Arab nations pull back, then what do we have? We do not have a path to Israel’s security, nor do we have a path to a Palestinian state.” Porter, who has also called for a permanent cease-fire, said there are conditions that must be met for the war to end, including the release of all hostages. ADAM SCHIFF FACT-CHECKED ON SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER CLAIMING HOUSE SPEAKER COUNTS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORAL VOTES “The parties to this conflict are Israel and Hamas. Cease-fire is not a magic word, you can’t just say it and make it so,” Porter said. “We have to push as the United States, as a world leader, for us to get to a cease-fire and to avoid another forever-war.” Garvey, the lone Republican on stage, said it was “naive” to think the United States government can force Israel into a cease-fire. “If 9/11 became 9/12, and one of our allies came to us and said, ‘we want you to cease-fire,’ what would we have done? We would have looked at them like, thank you for being our ally, but we must control our destiny and our sovereignty,” Garvey said. California has a blanket primary system where the top two vote-getters in March will advance to a runoff in November’s general election. The four candidates are looking to fill the seat vacated by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who passed away last year after serving in the Senate for three decades. Voting in California’s primary closes on March 5, with voting centers opening for early in-person voting on Feb. 24. California residents can also vote by mail, with ballot drop-off locations opening on Feb. 6. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee contributed to this report.
Border deal price tag likely to cost more than $14 billion, but GOP lawmakers grow restless to see bill text
Negotiators have finalized a portion of the bipartisan border deal and sent it to the Senate Appropriations Committee to see how the new policies would be funded. But the anticipated cost surpasses the allocated $14 billion from President Biden’s national security supplemental request for the border, lawmakers said. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the vice chair of the Appropriations Committee, told reporters the price tag “will definitely be more” than $14 billion as the committee received a portion of the agreement dealing with asylum on Monday afternoon. She didn’t say how much more it would cost, but Senate Republican Whip John Thune, R-S.D., added that the cost is currently being discussed. Outstanding issues still remain in the border negotiations between lawmakers and Biden administration officials that would unlock billions in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan — and lead Republicans said they are not expecting a vote on it this week. It’s unclear when an agreement will be finalized, but it will likely face an uphill battle when it does get a vote in the upper chamber and makes it to the GOP-controlled House. “You can’t create funding and new programming and then not fund it,” lead Democrat negotiator Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told reporters Monday. “So if you’re committed to policy change, you have to be equally as committed to funding the policy change.” SEN. MARSHALL URGES GOP TO SAY ‘HELL NO’ TO SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING REQUEST WITHOUT TIGHTER BORDER SECURITY “We also can’t have appropriators try to change the deal,” he added. “We’ve worked very hard to get where we are, and we have to sell our caucuses on a deal, but we can’t relitigate it in the Appropriations Committee.” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., the lead Republican negotiator, said Monday it would be “quite a push” to get the legislation to the floor this week as lawmakers had previously hoped, acknowledging that Republicans need to “have several days to be able to go through it.” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X that GOP senators need to “have and review” the legislation for “at least 3 weeks” and be guaranteed the chance to offer amendments, which could push the policy from seeing the light of day even further. Senators are also scheduled to go on recess on Feb. 9, heightening the pressure for a deal to make it into lawmakers’ hands before then. And on Wednesday, lawmakers have a private Senate GOP conference meeting to discuss additional aid to Ukraine as the White House has already depleted the amount of funds it can send without congressional approval. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have remained in lockstep when it comes to pairing Ukraine aid and border security together, despite several dissenting voices in the GOP arguing they should be voted on separately. WHITE HOUSE FUNDING REQUEST INCLUDES $14 BILLION FOR BORDER AS CRISIS HITS NEW RECORDS “Colleagues continue their work to finalize the most substantial border security policy in 30 years,” McConnell said on the floor. “This agreement would come not a moment too soon.” He added: “America’s allies look to us to lead by example, to deliver decisive capabilities to Ukraine and to step up investments in upgrading our arsenal, expanding our capacity to stock it.” Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., another one of the key negotiators, told reporters she doesn’t have a timeline, but the talks continue to make progress. A critical sticking point for the bipartisan group of negotiators has been the issue of parole, an integral border policy that allows illegal immigrants to live in the U.S. temporarily and obtain their green cards. It was expanded under the Biden administration to permit 30,000 nationals from four nations to fly in and receive parole into the U.S. monthly, forming part of the administration’s strategy to address the continuous crisis at the southern border. Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers on the outside of the closed-door talks are growing restless without seeing the border deal in writing. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a voice critical of sending more aid to Ukraine, told reporters Monday that “we’ve had everybody tell us this is the best deal in the world, and nobody has seen a scrap of paper.” Both Hawley and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. – another hawkish eye opposed to more foreign aid without heightened oversight – said there’s some talk that the bill text allows up to 5,000 border crossings a day before penalties begin. WATCH: MIGRANTS CLAIM ASYLUM ON COLD JANUARY NIGHT AS CBP UNION LEADER TALKS BORDER CRISIS CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I’m not going to vote for 50,000 green cards a year,” Hawley said. “I am not going to vote for 5,000 border crossings a day before you could shut the border down. I mean, absolutely not.” Paul said, “5,000 a day would be 1.8 million people.” “I’m not for just having 1.8 million people come across the border,” Paul said. “I think there are national security problems with that. The other thing is, is they’re talking about a bill in exchange for sending another $60 billion to Ukraine, which I’m not for.” The White House’s supplemental request, which was sent to Congress in October, includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel (with $10.6 billion allocated for military aid), $13.6 billion for some border security provisions, and significant investments in Indo-Pacific security assistance, totaling around $7.4 billion. Additionally, there’s $9 billion earmarked for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza. Fox News’ Tyler Olson and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.