Israel withholds $1m from PA tax revenues

The Israeli occupation government has withheld $1 million from the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s tax revenues, Arab48 reported Finance Minister Shukry Bishara saying yesterday.

During a meeting with Norway’s envoy to the Middle East Peace Process, Hilda Haraldstad, in Ramallah, Bishara said called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to release the money.

Bishara also stressed that the UN’s Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) should take practical measures to put pressure on Israel in order to “stop its arbitrary measures which contradict the Paris Economic Protocol.”

Haraldstad discussed with Bishara the preparation for holding next year’s official meeting for donor countries. They also discussed the recommendations from the previous meeting.

The Palestinian minister reiterated that the current donations cover less than one per cent of the PA’s operation costs compared to 30 per cent eight years ago.

He stressed that the financial situation of the PA is heading to more complex conditions due to the reduction in international donations, as well as due to the Israeli sanctions and restrictions.

READ: PA say rise in tax revenue led to budget surplus