PARIS, November 24, 2011 (WAFA) – France condemned the Israeli withholding of the taxes and customs duties that should by law be paid to the Palestinian Authority, said a press release on Thursday.

In a press release, the French Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bernard Valero, said “France condemns the prolonged withholding by the Israeli authorities of tax revenues and customs duties collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.” “These funds rightfully belong to the Palestinians and the withholding of them constitutes a violation of Israel’s commitments under the 1994 Paris Protocol.”

He said this “act is suffocating the Palestinian Administration since these duties are estimated to amount to around $100 million per month.”

He added, “There are growing calls for Israel to stop this practice, including on the part of Ban Ki-moon.'

“This shouldn’t be a matter of 'punishing' the Palestinians for their current initiatives at the United Nations, which are legal,” Valero said.

He said, “This decision is all the more dangerous since it may jeopardize the major progress achieved over the last few years with respect to building the institutions and infrastructure of the future Palestinian State, as well as with respect to security.”

“Beyond asking Israel to ‘uphold its commitments’, France, once again, urges it to transfer these funds to the Palestinian Authority, as swiftly as possible, as well as to ensure their regular payment in the future, as the international community urged it to do so in September at the most recent meeting of the Ad-Hoc Liaison,” Valero said.

F.R.