Israel takes economic measures in favor of the Palestinian Authority
The Israeli government began providing economic facilities to the Palestinian Authority, which it had approved in the past few months under heavy American pressure.
The newspaper “Israel Hayom” said that Israel reduced taxes imposed on fuel by 50 percent, to now become 1.5 percent, instead of 3 percent, a measure that will save 80 million shekels annually for the budget of the Palestinian Authority, after it pushed other economic measures. Represented by an increase in tax payments collected for the Authority by up to 730 million shekels per month, compared to about half a million previously.
The Israeli government had agreed at the beginning of the year to reduce the fees imposed by Tel Aviv on Ramallah for transporting fuel, known as the “blue” tax, from 3 to 1.5 percent, and to raise the percentage of revenues it transfers to Ramallah from tax fees, and to expand the list of tax-exempt imports that Processed on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.
Expo 2023 economic exhibition in Nablus, West Bank, September 30 (WAFA)
The Israeli government implemented only preliminary measures, while the list of tax-exempt imports will be updated later through the Joint Israeli-Palestinian Economic Committee.
The Joint Economic Committee was established under the Oslo Accords as an official body to settle financial disputes and promote joint economic initiatives. It is a committee that had been frozen since 2009 amid the deterioration of Israeli-Palestinian relations, before the United States of America intervened to revitalize the work of the committee again.
The Palestinian Authority has been demanding the three measures for years, but Israel refused and finally agreed against the backdrop of continued pressure from the administration of US President Joe Biden.
Israeli officials said that extremist ministers, such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, agreed with Netanyahu on these measures, as part of his efforts to improve relations with the American administration, after Smotrich had stalled the issue for several months and was accused by the Americans of procrastination.
The three measures could add millions of dollars to the coffers of the authority, which needs these funds more than ever, because it is going through a worsening financial crisis that it says is the worst since its establishment.
For the second year in a row, the Authority pays deficient salaries to its employees due to this crisis that it has been unable to overcome.
Last July, the Israeli government took a decision to prevent the collapse of the Palestinian Authority, and its President, Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke clearly about the Israeli government’s intention to help save the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, while continuing to work to combat the Palestinian Authority’s measures that harm Israel.
A statement said: “In the absence of a change in the national assessment, Israel will work to prevent the collapse of the Palestinian Authority, while demanding the cessation of its activities against Israel in the international legal diplomatic arena, an end to incitement in the media and education systems, a halt to payments to the families of terrorists and murderers, and a halt to construction.” Illegal in Area C.
A demonstration to demand the release of prisoner Walid Daqqa in front of Essaf Harofeh Hospital (Archive – Facebook)
However, the decisions taken by Israel, which may include in the future, establishing industrial zones or advancing an agreement to develop the gas field in the Gaza Strip, did not include responding to the most important request of the Palestinian Authority, which is the release of millions of dollars that Israel is withholding from tax revenues.
Israel withholds huge amounts of the Authority’s tax revenues as a form of punishment due to the allocations it pays to prisoners and the families of the perpetrators of the attacks.
2023-10-01 14:43:08
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