Abbas: No choice but to reexamine ties with Israel

Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Friday said there was no other choice but to reexamine the PA relations with Israel.

Speaking on the sidelines of an economic conference at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Abbas criticized Israel for suspending the transfer of the PA’s tax revenues, a move which Israel took in retaliation for the PA’s move to join the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Abbas said Israel by suspending the tax revenues robbed the PA of all its powers in Ramallah in such a way that the government cannot fulfill its responsibility towards the Palestinian people.

Therefore, he said, it is inevitable that the economic and security ties with Israel be reexamined in order "to ensure that the Palestinian Authority can retake its role in ending the occupation."