Yesterday, Israeli authorities withdrew a VIP card from the Palestinian Authority’s Attorney General, Ahmad Barak.
The decision to withdraw Barak’s VIP card comes after a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem, carrying the Israeli blue identity card, was detained for selling land to Israeli settlers, according to Hebrew-language news outlets.
Last month, a Jewish organization purchased a three-story building in Jerusalem’s Old City, near Herod’s Gate. The house, originally owned by the distinguished Joudeh family, was sold in April 2018 to a company registered in the Caribbean, apparently a straw company.
News of the sale sparked mutual accusations between Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and Muhammad Dahlan, who was expelled from The Palestinian authority in 2011.
In May 2016, the PA attorney general, Ahmad Barak, ordered to seize the funds of a Ramallah company since it received money from UAE-backed Dahlan and brought “dubious funds” into the Palestinian territories. Barak claimed that the company had not engaged in any real business in Palestine since its establishment; therefore, it was formed in order to secretly buy up property in Jerusalem’s Old City transfering it to unknown elements.
VIP cards allows senior officials in the PA, including Palestinian security services, to travel across Israel with fewer restrictions.
