Last update - 00:00 14/12/2006
Peres: We will free PA taxes only if Hamas stops funding terror
By Moti Bassok, Haaretz Correspondent
Vice Premier Shimon Peres told British Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn on Wednesday that Israel will transfer tax revenue collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to the PA only once it is confident that the money will not be used to finance terror against Israel.
Peres said Hamas continues to give millions of dollars to terror organizations instead of providing food and medicine for the Palestinian people. According to Peres, it is now clear to the entire world that Hamas prefers terror and war to dialogue, recognition of Israel, and peace.
Peres told Benn he expects Britain will act alongside the international community in a clear and resolute manner against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, and prevent them from establishing a fundamentalist hegemony in the region.
Peres met with Benn to discuss British involvement in the joint Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian "Peace Valley" industrial park. Peres proposed that British companies be given economic incentives by their government to increase their business in the region. The British secretary said his government is very interested in cooperating with Israel and the Palestinians on the industrial park, which will receive a preferred trade agreement.
The two also discussed the passage of goods through Gaza crossings, with the vice premier saying Israel would examine favorably the export of goods from the Gaza Strip via the El Arish airport in Egypt.