Informed sources described the call made by US President Joe Biden last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “difficult and frustrating.” The sources revealed that the phone conversation centered around Israel’s decision to withhold part of the tax revenues it collects for the Palestinian Authority, according to American and Israeli officials, who confirmed that Biden ended the call by saying: “This conversation is over.”
An American official said: “It was one of the most difficult conversations Biden had with Netanyahu,” stressing that the call was a sign of the growing tensions between Biden and Netanyahu, according to what Axios reported. The American website reported that the tax revenues collected by Israel for the Palestinian Authority constitute a major source of income for the Palestinian Authority, which is already suffering from a financial crisis.
Israeli and American officials revealed that the 45-minute call last Saturday focused on the next phase of the Israeli ground operation, but at the end of the call, Biden raised his concerns about withheld Palestinian tax revenues.
According to the officials, Biden told Netanyahu that he must confront hardliners in his coalition on the issue just as he is dealing with political pressure from Congress over the war in Gaza.
After a few minutes of discussion, Biden told Netanyahu that he expected him to resolve the issue, added that “this conversation is over” and ended the call, according to a US official and a source familiar with the call.
The official added that a few days after the Biden-Netanyahu call, the issue came up again during the meeting held by Israeli Minister Ron Dermer at the White House with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. The official said: “We have made good progress and believe that the issue of transferring tax revenues is on its way to being resolved.” the solution”.
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich decided in October to suspend the transfer of all tax revenue funds after the Hamas attack, but the Israeli government said it would transfer all funds except those it says go to Hamas-run Gaza.
The website pointed out that the issue has become a thorn in the side of Netanyahu, who is facing pressure from the Biden administration to release the funds, and Smotrich, who expressed his opposition to the release of any of the funds, even indirectly, and threatened to resign over this issue, which may expose the Prime Minister’s coalition government to danger.
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