Israel rules on payments to Palestine

Israeli officials today agreed to make an overdue payment of about €54.7m owed to the Palestinians, but said future transfers will be halted once the militant group Hamas forms the next Palestinian government.

Israel froze the payment last week to protest Hamas’ recent victory in Palestinian legislative elections. Officials said at the time that they wanted assurances that the money would not be used for suicide bombings. Hamas, which remains committed to Israel’s destruction, is expected to form a new government in the coming weeks.