Israel is supposed to transfer the tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority every month but has refused to hand over most of the funds since Hamas, which is defined as a terrorist organization by Israel and much of the West, came to power in elections and formed a government in early 2006.
Mr. Erekat said the tax revenues collected by Israel constituted 61 percent of the Palestinian Authority’s revenues and that without them “the Palestinian social fabric and institutions are disintegrating.”...
...Israeli government officials say the withheld revenues now amount to $566 million.
During his first meeting with Mr. Abbas, in late December, Mr. Olmert agreed to transfer $100 million to Mr. Abbas’s office as a good-will gesture and as part of an effort to strengthen the Palestinian leader, a moderate and the head of the Fatah movement, against the rival Hamas.
That money was transferred in mid-January, but an Israeli government official, who would discuss the details only on condition of anonymity, said last week that Israel was “still trying to figure out what happened to the $100 million.”
The official said Israel wanted Mr. Abbas to create a mechanism that would ensure that the money “won’t be funneled in any way to the Hamas government” before transferring any more funds.
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