President Biden recently had a "frustrating" phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which he urged Netanyahu to address the issue of Palestinian tax revenue
President Biden held a difficult conversation last weekend with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's decision to withhold part of the tax revenue it collects for the Palestinian Authority, according to two U.S. and Israeli officials and a source with knowledge of the issue.
The big picture: A U.S. official said this part of last Saturday's call between the two leaders was one of the most difficult and "frustrating" conversations Biden has had with Netanyahu since the beginning of the war in Gaza. It's a sign of the growing tensions between Biden and Netanyahu.
Behind the scenes: Saturday's 45-minute call between Biden and Netanyahu focused on the next phase of Israel's ground operation, Israeli and U.S. officials said.
- But towards the end of the call, Biden raised his concerns about the withheld Palestinian tax revenues.
- According to the officials, Biden asked Netanyahu to accept a proposal that the Israeli prime minister raised himself several weeks ago: to transfer the withheld tax revenues to Norway for safekeeping until an arrangement can be found that will assuage Israel's concerns that the funds could reach Hamas.
- The Palestinian Authority has already accepted this proposal and told the U.S. that under such an agreement it will resume taking part of the tax revenues that weren't withheld, according to a U.S. official.
A U.S. official and a source with knowledge of the call said Netanyahu backtracked and said he doesn't think this is a good idea anymore. He told Biden he doesn't trust the Norwegians and said the Palestinian Authority should just accept the partial transfer of the funds.
- Biden pushed back and said the U.S. trusts Norway's proposal and this should be enough for Israel to trust it too, the U.S. official and the source with knowledge of the call said. Source: Axios
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