Israel orders ministries to end cooperation with Palestinians

April 09, 2014 05:15 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 07:29 pm IST - Jerusalem

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his office in Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his office in Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday ordered all ministries to cease cooperation with their Palestinian counterparts, as the sides increase tit-for-tat moves while U.S.-brokered negotiations falter.

The measure came after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked last week to join 15 international organizations and treaties, seen by Israel as a step towards recognition of a Palestinian state.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been growing increasingly frustrated with the talks he is trying to broker.

At a U.S. Senate committee hearing on Tuesday he sharply criticized Israel over delays in releasing Palestinian prisoners and its subsequent announcement of 700 new settlement units in eastern Jerusalem.

A senior Israeli official said the decision to cut all high-level contact with Palestinian departments would not affect negotiations, which have been given a deadline for the end of the month.

The decision also does not include security and humanitarian offices.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.