Israel has deducted a percentage of the tax revenues of the Palestinians, which led the Palestinian Authority (PA) to pay back the full amount, according to member of Fatah Central Committee Hussein Sheikh.
“Israel began to deduct the money paid to the families of the martyrs and the prisoners, and the Authority refused to accept the whole compensation," he said.
Sheikh accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “going to the polls at the expense of Palestinian blood, and at the expense of the Palestinians' livelihood.”
Two weeks ago, Israel decided to cut $138 million in Palestinian tax money, equivalent to the payments made by the Authority to families of fighters and prisoners in 2018.
Tel Aviv decided to deduct a fixed amount from taxes each month that could exceed $150 million and reach $200 million. However, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responded by threatening to refuse to receive any money if Israel deducted them.
These funds constitute the largest income for the Authority, which means Palestinians could face a severe financial crisis.
Palestinians say the Israeli decision will affect the PA's financial obligations and raise the budget deficit from $450 million to $600 million. The Authority refused to begin a series of actions to address the potential deficit in paying part of the salaries and launching an austerity plan.
Outgoing Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah announced that the Palestinian leadership will deal without the consequences of Israeli cuts to tax revenues.
Hamdallah said: “We have stressed we will not be subject to extortion and will overcome the current crisis.”
“We will rearrange our priorities and we will reorganize our spending to keep up with the new challenges in order to fulfill our obligations towards our people,” he added.
In addition to the financial steps, the Authority asked the Arab League to activate the estimated $100 million financial safety net, boycott Israeli products and work with France to amend or cancel the Paris Economic Agreement, as well as resorting to international courts to hold Israel accountable for the theft of tax funds.
The Authority also indicated that it looks forward for a great Arab finance support, calling on Arab countries to follow the example of Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, the government said Riyadh fulfilled its financial obligations by providing a $60 million support to the national budget.
The government thanked the Kingdom and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman, for his guidance in providing such support.
Palestinians link the Israeli move to previous US steps, with officials saying the US-Israeli financial blockade was coordinated and aimed to pressure the Authority to accept Washington’s “deal of the century.”
White House adviser Jared Kushner has revealed a broad outline of the US peace plan for the Middle East, saying it will address final-status issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Palestinians have reiterated their rejection to the plan, stressing that ending the occupation is the only solution.
Member of Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Ahmed Majdalani asserted that freedom comes by putting an end to the occupation and respect international resolutions.
In a statement Majdalani wondered how Kushner has sought to promote freedoms at a time when his administration continues to support the occupation which suppresses the freedom of the Palestinian people and their right to establish a state.
Kushner announced that the long-awaited peace proposal would build on “a lot of the efforts in the past,” including the 1990s Oslo accords.
The official said the proposal also included a “political plan, which is very detailed” and “really about establishing borders and resolving final-status issues.”
Chief Palestinian negotiator in the talks that collapsed in 2014 Saeb Erekat said on Twitter that “Trump’s map” envisaged “isolated territories for the Palestinians”.
