Foul play will not do Israel any good

Israel's decision to halt the transfer of tax funds from the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is one of the many tactics the Jewish state is using to pressure the Palestinians post-reconciliation. The official reason given behind this cruel move is that Israel fears the money could go to Hamas, which it deems a terrorist group.

But this is a ridiculous step taken by a paranoid government that fears a united Palestinian stance could pave the way for Palestinian statehood declaration, which increasingly looks inevitable.

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad rightly complained that this has put the Ramallah-based government in an impossible financial position and the European Union and the United Nations have both criticised Israel for blocking the money.

Instead of finding ways to complicate Palestinians' lives even more, Israel, which claims to be serious about peace, should accept the reality that Gaza and the West Bank have reconciled and focus on getting the peace negotiations back on track.