Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/8/israel-revokes-entry-permits-of-senior-palestinian-officials
Israel has just denied a Palestinian foreign minister and three Fattah officials their travel permits and barred them from entering the country. This comes as punitive measures by a new far right government that has recently been inducted into power. Riad al Malki, the Palestinian foreign minister, said in statement that when he was returning from the Brazilian presidential inauguration, his travel permit was revoked. This travel permit allowed access to forbidden areas for civilians in the occupied West Bank that is only open to a select few officials. This act by the government is in response to Palestinians pressuring the United Nations to give an opinion on the Israeli occupation. Israel’s Security Cabinet also began withholding funds from the Palestinian Authority that was meant to go families of Palestinian prisoners and those killed in conflict, which were necessary social welfare for many Palestinian citizens.
Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh says that Israel using tax revenues as revenue will not stop Palestine from continuing their political and diplomatic struggles in the conflict of the Israeli-Palestine war. Palestine continues to fall into financial crisis as the conflict continues and resources are becoming more and more scarce. The Israeli government has recently sworn in a new far-right leader named Benjamin Netanyahu and want strengthen their diplomatic bonds with the United States. Under this new government, it is unlikely the Israeli-Palestine conflict will come to a close soon. This new government is considered to be the most far-right government in Israel history, and many protests have broken out after Netanyahu claimed that he wanted to expand occupation of the West Bank and many protesters say that he is a threat to democracy and freedom.
The U.S and Israel have been diplomatic partners for a while now and both have similar common goals and interests. The U.S has also made it a priority to attempt to mend the Israeli-Palestine conflict and encourage cooperation.