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JERUSALEM — Israel will hold up an $89 million cash transfer to
the Palestinians planned for this week, the Israeli finance minister
said Sunday, in the country’s first tangible step against a new unity
arrangement between Palestinian factions.

Israel wants assurances
that any money transferred to the Palestinians will not reach the
militant Hamas organization, which is set to become part of the
Palestinian government, said the minister, Yuval Steinitz.

“I think the burden of proof is on the Palestinians, to make it
certain, to give us guarantees that money delivered by Israel is not
going to the Hamas, is not going to a terrorist organization, is not
going to finance terror operations against Israeli citizens,” Steinitz
said ahead of the Israeli government’s weekly meeting.

Israel
collects some tax and customs fees for the Palestinians under peace
agreements of the 1990s. Israel has held up cash transfers several times
in the past decade, citing concerns that the money was being used to
fund attacks against Israelis.

The framework Palestinian unity
deal announced last week aims at a reconciliation between Fatah and
Hamas. Fatah, backed by the West, dominates the Palestinian Authority,
which governs the West Bank and officially seeks an accommodation with
Israel. The Iran-backed Hamas rules Gaza and... >>>