France has agreed to provide an additional 10 million euros in funding to the new Palestinian Authority unity government.
The merger unites the U.S.-backed Ramallah-based secular Fatah faction with the Gaza-based Islamist Hamas terrorist group.
France made the announcement Monday after condemning Israel's decision earlier this month to freeze the routine transfer of taxes and customs fees collected on behalf of the PA.
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz announced May 1 Israel would freeze the transfer of some NIS 300 million ($88 million) to Ramallah until there was a way to ensure the money would not reach the hands of Hamas terrorists.
The PA complained Monday that it has not been able to pay government salaries for the first time since 2007 due to Israel's decision to freeze the funds. PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the decision had put the PA government in a “very difficult” financial position. He appealed to donor countries to help resolve the crisis with additional financial aid and by pressuring Israel to release the funds.
A certain portion of the monies the Ramallah-based government pays is typically allocated for salaries of workers in Gaza. This creates difficulty for Israel, which is determined to prevent money from reaching the hands of Hamas terrorists who are intent upon murdering Israeli citizens.
In addition, kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who was abducted from an army post near the Kerem Shalom crossing in June 2006 is still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
Shalit's whereabouts and condition remain unknown. To this day, Hamas has not allowed representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit him.
Moreover, Hamas remains dedicated to the destruction of the State of Israel, as called for in its founding charter. It has also refused to accept the conditions called for by the Quartet for Middle East affairs (EU, Russia, U.S. and U.N.). Those conditions include renouncing violence, recognizing Israel's right to exist and agreeing to uphold agreements signed between prior PA governments and the State of Israel.