(UPDATE) Israel halts tax revenue transfer to counter Palestinian bid to join ICC

JERUSALEM (Xinhua) - Israeli authorities decided to withhold $128 million worth of tax revenue it collects on the Palestinian Authority's behalf as a punitive measure following the bid to join the International Criminal Court in Hague, an Israeli official confirmed to Xinhua.

The official said that Israeli officials decided on the move following a meeting on Thursday discussing Israel's course of action in response to the Palestinian Authority's (PA) initiative on Wednesday.

The tax money collected for the month of December was supposed to be transferred to the Palestinian Authority on Friday, but Israeli authorities decided to withhold the transfer following recent diplomatic developments.

According to the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Israel collects taxes for the Palestinians and then transfers the money to the Palestinian Finance Ministry.

In April, Israel had announced it would freeze some of the tax funds of the PA in response to the establishment of the Palestinian Unity government with Hamas, against which Israel fought last summer for two months.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday requested to join the Rome Statute, overseeing the activity of the International Criminal Court (ICC) tribune in The Hague.

Joining the international criminal court would enable the Palestinians to file complaints against Israelis, both political as well as military officials, for violating international law or committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinians.

The move came a day after the PA's resolution at the United Nations Security Council was rejected. The draft ordered Israel to withdraw from the lands it occupied and annexed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem at the 1967 Mideast War, until the end of 2017,  in order to establish a Palestinian state.

The Palestinian Authority had taken on several diplomatic initiatives in recent months following the collapse of the peace talks with Israel in April, after nine months of US-mediated negotiations, in which the Palestinians claimed Israel stalled, made far-reaching security demands and expanded its construction in the settlements.

Israel, on its behalf, sharply criticized the Palestinian Authority's moves. Israeli officials have reiterated that negotiations, rather than unilateral moves, are the only way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and called the diplomatic initiatives "attacks" on Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday, following the PA's announcement, that "those who should fear the International Criminal Court is the Palestinian Authority, who established a government with Hamas, a terrorist organization," according to a statement from his office.

On Thursday, Netanyahu reiterated the message, calling the ICC to reject the Palestinian bid, which he called "hypocritical"

"The Palestinian Authority is an entity that maintains an alliance with a terrorist organization, Hamas, which commits war crimes," Netanyahu said. "The state of Israel is a lawful country with a moral army that enforces all international laws. We will protect IDF soldiers as they protect us."

International criticism of Israel grew exponentially in recent months, amid the recent Gaza war, as well as the ongoing expansion of the settlements and the diplomatic freeze with the Palestinians.

The deteriorating security situation in Israel in the past recent months drew more countries to call to end the status quo and resume negotiations.

Several western states, among them Sweden, France, the U.K., Spain and Ireland, have expressed their support in recent months for a Palestinian state alongside an Israeli state. Israel suffered diplomatic blows from several EU institutions and lashed back at the criticism, calling it hypocrisy.

Israeli officials blame Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and PA officials for incitement against Israel which they claim led to a series of deadly attacks against Israelis in recent months and called the international community to rebuke Abbas for it.

Israel also blamed Abbas for not being willing to officially announce Israel is the land of the Jewish people and said there is no partner for peace talks amid the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, which Israel deems a terrorist organizations calling for its destruction, in April.