Letter clarifying policy comes after several banks denied those sanctioned access to their assets, infuriating treasury chief, who threatened to take revenge on PA, source says

The sanctions have infuriated Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who characterized them as a draconian obstruction of Israeli sovereignty. In response, the far-right lawmaker threatened to take steps in his capacity as head of the treasury that would significantly impede the Palestinian economy, the Israeli official added, confirming a Thursday report in the Israel Hayom daily.

Ostensibly wary of such retaliatory actions, the US administration agreed to send a letter to the Finance Ministry clarifying that the sanctions were not intended to cut off those targeted from the entirety of their assets.

  • BuelldozerAEnglish
    114·
    8 months ago

    Odd that this article omits what Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to do if the US didn’t play ball.

    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-may-cut-off-palestinian-banks-global-banking-system-next-week

    This wasn’t Biden or the US simply rolling over on demand, this was a choice made to prevent a maniac from doing something worse.

    US - Israeli relations are deteriorating so fast that I wouldn’t be surprised to see a total split before the end of the year.

        • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          104·
          8 months ago

          They’ve had nukes since the last century. Even the republican war monger Bush stopped israel during it.

          Without American weapons israel is completely donezo.

          • apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.worldEnglish
            31·
            8 months ago

            Yes, the nukes we gave them decades ago. They’ve also been genociding Palestinians before they had nukes.

          • BuelldozerAEnglish
            34·
            8 months ago

            Without American weapons israel is completely donezo.

            Nope, they’ll transition to Russia or China as their primary defense partner. Some people argue that it’s already happening.

            • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
              43·
              8 months ago

              Those countries are allied with Iran though. Their recent votes and anti israel language at the UN signals the exact opposite. China and Russia are moving away from israel.

      • BuelldozerAEnglish
        54·
        8 months ago

        Sure but then the headline reads the other way “Biden Administration allows Israeli Government to cut Palestine off from banking, destroying their economy.”

        I mean ideally Uncle Sam would put his size 14 boot on Israel’s neck and tell them to knock it the fuck off, but that’s very difficult to do when it comes to sovereign matters like how they run their banking system internally. Plus it then spins out another half dozen headlines that look terrible.

        In this case I think that the Biden Administration made the correct choice, as bad as it was.