CAIRO, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The Arab Parliament (AP) urged on Wednesday France to practice pressure on Israel to release all Palestinian tax and customs revenues it is withholding.
"By refusing to transfer Palestinian tax revenues, Israel grossly violates the terms of Paris Protocol, which does not put any restrictions on how Palestinians spend their own revenues," the AP's speaker Mishaal al-Salami said.
Al-Salami asserted that the AP totally rejects Israel's deduction of the revenues of the Palestinian taxes and customs it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.
"Israel has no right to use the Palestinian money," he added.
The AP's official lauded the French stances towards the Palestinian cause, noting that France was the country that brokered Paris Protocol, a framework agreement inked in 1994 establishing the interim-period economic relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and regulating its finances and tax system.
Al-Salami urged the international community to shoulder its responsibility toward protecting the Palestinian rights and take necessary and effective measures to restore the frozen Palestinian funds from Israel.
