Israel's open hand to the Palestinians

Photo: Baz Ratner/Reuters

Netanyahu promised consequences if the UN voted in favor of the Palestinian statehood bid. That would have been an optimistic view. In a conflict fuelled by retaliations -who shot first?- there was to expect some sort of payback.

However, Western democracies probably didn’t expect this degree of bitterness. It is a diplomatic Cast Lead operation against the Palestinian Authority and the West Bank.

The Palestinians felt the hand that the Israelis tend in peace to them, as the Israeli ambassador to the UN said last week in New York. Only that it was more of a fist than an open hand. Immediately after the UN vote, Israel announced that it would confiscate the tax revenues it collects on behalf of the PA.

We are not talking about some spare change; it is $120m that pay mostly Palestinian civil servants’ salaries. That money will go to pay a debt of around $200m that the PA had with the Israeli electrical company, who provides energy needs for the West Bank.

An Israeli official told the Guardian the move came now in response to the UN bid and it could be repeated next month. "A lot depends on what the Palestinians do or don't do," he said.

But that is not all of it. Israel announced as well the construction of 3000 new homes in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem. The plan projects the building of a new corridor of homes in the E-1 sector, connecting north-east and south-east Jerusalem.

This is a red line even for Washington and Tel Aviv. There is no way back from there. It erases any possible two-state solution. It effectively surrounds and disconnects East Jerusalem from any possible Palestinian state.

This decision infuriated the American and European governments, who criticized harshly the move. Some even recalled their ambassadors, like in the case of France, Britain, Spain, Denmark and Sweden.

Despite this, Netanyahu is focused on keeping on track with this plan. Not only that, but he has also defrosted a plan to build an extra 1700 homes in Ramat Shlomo, beyond the Green Line, that was suspended in 2010. Additionally, Israel has renewed patrols to identify and demolish Arab houses illegally built in East Jerusalem.

Israel has gotten used to play hard and being isolated internationally. It is not the first time the US criticizes an Israeli decision. Neither is it the first time European countries recall ambassadors.

But somehow, Netanyahu has been always able to pull some advantage out of it. It is part of Netanyahu's twisted idea of a negotiation. Back in 2010, Obama offered him 20 fifth generation F-35 jets in exchange for a 90-day moratorium on the construction of new homes. If this happens again, it wouldn’t be the first time someone sees bribing or blackmailing on it.