An interesting dilemma for Israel. From AP:
JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel agreed Sunday to transfer the equivalent of about $60 million Cdn in desperately needed tax money to the Palestinian Authority, but said it might freeze payments after the Islamic Hamas group forms the next Palestinian government.
Israel’s monthly transfer of the taxes and customs duties it collects on behalf of the Palestinians is crucial to the functioning of the Palestinian Authority. Halting the payments would deepen the government’s financial crisis and add to the growing international pressure on Hamas to renounce violence and recognize Israel before it takes power.
The Israeli cabinet made its decision as violence flared across the region.
Early Sunday, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a Gaza City facility used by the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades – a militant group linked to the Fatah party – killing three militants and wounding five others. A second air strike and an artillery barrage claimed no casualties. The Israeli military said the strikes were meant to deter rocket fire from Gaza. A rocket launched Friday wounded a baby and two adults in southern Israel.
In the central Israeli town of Petah Tikva, a Palestinian assailant killed a woman and wounded four other people in a stabbing rampage on a bus. Police said the attack was politically motivated. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Also Sunday, a Palestinian man was killed in an explosion in a village near the West Bank city of Ramallah, hospital officials said. It appeared the man had been handling a bomb, the officials said. The Israeli army denied any connection to the explosion…