Palestine: We pressure Israel to release withheld tax funds

Palestine – Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa said on Tuesday that his government has begun to pressure Israel with international mediators to release Palestinian tax funds (clearance).

This came in a speech at the first session of the new Palestinian government, in the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank, following it took the constitutional oath on Sunday.

Mustafa added: “Among our government’s priorities is financial stability, and we understand the financial distress that our people are going through. The government, along with the mediators, began to pressure Israel to release the withheld tax funds, and recovering them is a top priority.”

Israel collects taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority once morest Palestinian imports of imported goods, which it calls “clearance funds,” with a monthly average of $220 million.

The Palestinian Authority relies on clearing funds to pay the salaries of its employees, and without them it would not be able to fulfill its obligations towards the wage bill and towards the expenses of government institutions.

However, Israel suspended the transfer of clearance funds to the Palestinian side following the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, while deciding to deduct $74 million per month from it, which the Palestinian Authority had transferred to Gaza, salaries for its employees, and a portion allocated to the Gaza Electricity Company.

Mustafa pointed out that his government seeks to form the largest coalition of local and international institutions to support the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

He said: “We are making international efforts around the clock to provide relief for our people in the Gaza Strip, from providing needs to reconstruction.”

Mustafa denounced “the Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip and their escalation in the West Bank,” and added: “We condemn the crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip, including the crime of the Shifa Medical Complex.”

The Prime Minister called for an end to the genocide and a permanent ceasefire, noting that “the West Bank is also subject to continuous targeting by the Israeli army and its settlers.”

​​​​​​​He called for enabling the work of his government, calling for all institutions and parties to join forces for this, and said, “Unity and solidarity are achieved through action, not slogans.”

Anatolia