02 Jan 2023; MEMO: The new Israeli government is preparing a package of sanctions against Palestinians, including the withdrawal of VIP cards granted to Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, Quds Press reported on Sunday.
The planned Israel sanctions are a response the UN approval on Friday of a resolution requesting the International Court of Justice evaluate Israel's "annexation" policies and the "legal status of the occupation."
The VIP cards gives senior PA officials easy access to Israeli cities, easy passage at Israeli checkpoints, as well as travel through Ben Gurion Airport.
Wives, children and bodyguards of the PA officials, who hold the Israeli VIP cards, are able to pass through Israeli checkpoints without inspection and travel to Jerusalem through the gates of Separation Wall.
A decision on the package of sanctions against the Palestinians is expected to be taken by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister, Yoav Galant, and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in coordination with others, Israeli sources reported.
On Friday, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution requesting the International Court of Justice to weigh in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli "annexation" and the "legal status of the occupation."
The resolution, which is titled "Israeli practices and settlement activities affecting the rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories," was promoted by the PA and it was passed by a vote of 87 in favour, 26 against and 53 abstentions.
It calls on the ICJ to "render urgently an advisory opinion" on Israel's "prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of Palestinian territory."
