Sada News – The Foreign Ministries of Britain, France and Germany called in a joint statement for the urgent renewal of banking services between Israel and Palestine.
“The Foreign Ministries of France, Germany and the United Kingdom call for the urgent renewal of banking services between Israel and Palestine for at least one year,” the statement read.
He added: “Failure to renew would completely suspend cross-border trade, which would be disastrous for the Palestinian economy. This would jeopardize regional security and harm both Palestinian and Israeli businesses.”
He continued: “We note the important steps taken in recent months to mitigate risks related to illicit financing, including the completion of a national risk assessment by the Palestine Monetary Authority and the agreement to conduct an assessment for MENAFATF next year.”
The statement concluded: “We urge the Government of Israel to renew compensation without delay for at least one year, in line with its obligations under the Paris Protocol. We are committed to working with Israel and the Palestinian authorities to continue to combat the financing of terrorism while reiterating that failure to renew compensation, or another temporary renewal, will “It is unacceptable and causes serious economic damage to both Israel and the West Bank.”
Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and 7 of her counterparts in allied countries sent a letter to Benjamin Netanyahu warning him that his Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, was about to cause the collapse of the Palestinian economy.
The letter indicated that Smotrich has until October 31 to agree to extend financial correspondence between banks in Israel and the West Bank, without which the Palestinian banking system may collapse.
The World Bank expected the Palestinian Authority’s budget deficit to double in the coming months to reach $1.2 billion, warning of an increasing risk of financial collapse in Palestine.
