Jerusalem, Dec 30 (IANS) Israel has approved a series of measures intended to improve ties with the Palestinian authority.Israeli Defence Minister, Benny Gantz announced the move on Wednesday in a statement, a day after a rare meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in former's home in Rosh Ha'Ayin, northeast of Tel Aviv.Gantz said in the statement that he authorised "a number of confidence-building measures," including the transfer of 100 million new shekels' ($32 million) worth of tax payments that Israel has been collecting on behalf of the Palestinian authority.The package also includes travel permits to hundreds of VIP Palestinian businesspersons and the approval of residency status to about 9,500 Palestinians in the Israel-occupied West Bank and the Gaza strip, Xinhua news agency reported.Israel has withheld Palestinian tax funds, citing stipends the Palestinian authority pays to families of the Palestinians imprisoned for their involvement in attacks against Israelis, although the Palestinian authority describe them as welfare stipends used to support needy families.
--IANS int/khz/
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