Palestinians upset over PA thank you letter to Israel ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Palestinians upset over PA thank you letter to Israel

Last week, Israel agreed to release some NIS 500 million to the Palestinian Authority.

PA finance minister Shukry Bishara wrote a note thanking his Israeli counterpart for helping with that as well as other agreements they made about Palestinian worker permits in Israel

I would like to express my profound appreciation for last Thursday's meeting. I hope that throughout our discussions, I have succeeded in conveying to you the gravity of the financial challenges that I have to deal with, and in consequence the need to find satisfactory resolution to the issues which are under discussion," Bishara wrote.

I left our meeting heartened that, owing to your leadership and understanding, we have reached a positive turning point and set the stage for new beginnings in the commercial relationship between Israel and ourselves. Although the accommodations that you have already agreed to fall short of what is actually required to resolve comprehensively the outstanding issues, yet I do believe they constitute a welcome and positive step forward.

There is a great deal of hard work ahead of us, and I personally look forward for continued dialogue and cooperation with you.

Lastly, I would appreciate if you would extend my thanks to General Yoav Mordechai for his participation and constructive role during our meeting.

I look forward to seeing you again in the not too distant future.

With warm regards,

Shukry Bishara

Naturally, this letter - which uses fairly standard diplomatic language - is making many Palestinians upset.

One major complaint is the idea of thanking Israel for releasing money that (they believe) should have been given to the PA long ago anyway. Israel has withheld money for various reasons including non-payment of electricity bills and Palestinian reneging on promises not to unilaterally join international organizations.

But the main complaint is that the letter is addressed to Kahlon in Jerusalem, State of Israel.

I don't think the reason is because they want to see Jerusalem become an international city.

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