Israeli sanctions threat discounted

RAMALLAH: Israel will not carry out its threat of financial sanctions if Palestinians achieve a statehood upgrade at the United Nations, a Palestinian diplomat predicted yesterday.
Mohammad Shtayyeh, a senior member of President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party, said Israel had no interest in bringing about the collapse of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).
“In my opinion, most of the declared measures will be empty threats, rather than serious ones, because Israel has a vested interest in maintaining the status of the Palestinian Authority,” Shtayyeh told journalists in Ramallah.