Israel transfers Palestinian funds as threat of sanctions wanes

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gestures as he meets Palestinian businessmen at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah April 29, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

RAMALLAH West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian public sector workers received their salaries on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said, in a sign that Israel had backed down from a threat to impose sanctions as peace talks began to collapse last month.

Israel had said on April 10 it would withhold funds after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed a series of international human rights conventions he hoped would allow Palestinians to eventually challenge Israel at the United Nations, which recognized Palestine as a non-member state in 2012.