Il governo Palestinese chiede al Presidente Obama di non esentare dalle tasase
le organizzazioni che finanziano i coloni nei territori occupati palestinesi.
"mentre i palestinesi stanno con un duro lavoro cercando di costruire uno stato sicuro e indipendente, queste organizzazioni hanno agevolazioni fiscali, che usano per finanziare coloni che rubano la nostra acqua e la nostra terra, dissacrano i nostri luoghi sacri e terrorizzano la nostra comunità e i nostri bambini “
lo dice Khassan Khatib - responsbile del Media Center del Governo Palestinese
Palestinian National Authority
Government Media Center
Prime Minister’s Office
Press Release
July 8th 2010
Tax deductions fund illegal activity; Support extremists, terrorists
Palestinian Government calls on Obama to end tax breaks
for funding illegal West Bank settlements
The U.S. Treasury lost taxes on some $200 million over the past decade, due to tax breaks given to organizations that fund extremist Jewish settler groups in the West Bank. At least one of the groups has ties to a terrorist organization, according a recent report in the New York Times.
“While the Palestinian people work hard to build a secure, independent state, these organizations are getting a tax break for funding settlers who steal our land and water, desecrate our places of worship, and terrorize our communities and our children,” said Ghassan Khatib, head of the Palestinian Government Media Center. “Not only does it undercut our efforts to build a democracy, it’s unfair to the American taxpayer who would like to see that money go to improve education, fund health care, or create jobs in the U.S.”
Almost every senior American official involved in the peace negotiations, from President Obama on down, considers the illegal settlements to be a major obstacle to the peace process. Therefore, stopping the tax exemptions that benefit the funding of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank is an essential and necessary step that should be taken to reflect the U.S policy on this issue.
“It simply makes no sense that on one hand the American government says the settlements are one of the primary obstacles to peace, and on the other hand gives tax credits for funding the settlements,” said Khatib.
Khatib noted that the most disturbing aspect of the tax breaks concerned funding for “paramilitary operations” and “land reclamation,” both of which are tools used to squeeze or force Palestinians off their own land. Khatib also pointed out that at least one of the non-profits receiving tax deductions is led by a terrorist, David Ha’Ivri, formerly David Axelrod of Queens, according to the New York Times.
The Times reported that Mr. Ha’Ivri was, as recently as four years ago, involved in running The Way of the Torah, a designated terrorist organization in the United States. The Times article also pointed out that one group of activists funded by American non-profits has pledged to attack a Palestinian mosque, vineyard or olive grove every time the Israeli government tries to curtail illegal settlement construction.
“This is incitement at its worst,” said Khatib. “And it makes it virtually impossible to create a stable, secure Palestinian democracy with this kind of activity surrounding us.”
