Israel and Palestine to discuss transfer of tax revenues

An official source has revealed that the Israeli and Palestinian governments will be meeting today, Wednesday, to discuss the transfer of tax revenues collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli government blocked the transfer of the funds in response to the UN decision to upgrade Palestine’s status last November.

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The anonymous official referred to the possibility that the Palestinians will succeed in having the transfers reinstated. This was hinted at recently by the PA Minister of the Economy, Dr. Jawad Al-Najy, when he said that he expects the Authority’s financial crisis “to end soon”, in part as a result of pressure from the international community.

When the original announcement was made to block the transfers, the then Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said that the penalty would last for “four months”. The money would be used in the interim to pay off the PA’s debts for utility services supplied by Israeli companies, he claimed.