Israeli-Palestinian relations in 'downward spiral'

The United Nations on Thursday called on Israel to unlock significant sums in taxes owed to the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) that were withheld after it announced its decision to join the International Criminal Court.

Speaking to the UN Security Council in New York, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's assistant, Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen, said the freeze of some 130 million euros imposed at the beginning of January was in violation of the Oslo Accords, the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians forged in 1993.

"We call on Israel to immediately resume the transfer of tax revenues," said Toyberg-Frandzen.

"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is now entering unchartered territory, which, lamentably, seems to have dashed any immediate hope for a return to peace talks," he added.

'Downward spiral'

The Security Council was meeting to attempt a rejuvenation of talks between the two camps, following last month's rejection of a resolution on Palestinian statehood, a major thorn in the diplomatic process. The comments from New York also came as Arab foreign ministers gathered in Cairo moved to win approval for a fresh UN resolution on ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

The Arab-backed resolution rejected last month had set the end of 2017 as the deadline for a "full Israeli withdrawal" that would pave the way to Palestinian statehood.

Washington and Australia voted against, but China, France and Russia were among eight Security Council members that backed the resolution, leaving it just one vote short of the nine required for adoption.

The outcome spared the US - one of five permanent members on the Council - from resorting to its veto, a move that almost certainly would have damaged Washington's standing in the Arab world at a time when Washington is leading an international campaign against the militant group "Islamic State" in northern Iraq and Syria.

glb/sb (AFP, Reuters)