US urges Israel to release PA revenues to ensure security in West Bank

The administration of US President Joe Biden has expressed its alarm over a decision by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to suspend the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, far-right Smotrich announced his decision to suspend transfers of the PA’s monthly tax revenues because it failed to condemn the 7 October surprise infiltration of Palestinian resistance fighters into Israel.

He also highlighted that the PA resumed its efforts to have the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigate and prosecute Israel for its war crimes.

“The Palestinian Authority has proved again that it is a terror-supporting organisation and therefore the tax revenues will be used against Israel,” Smotrich claimed in the letter. “In this reality it is unthinkable that we continue transferring the money like nothing happened.”

He added that the transfer of the revenues – which amount to around $150 million per month, including a value-added tax for goods entering the Gaza Strip, will remain suspended until the security cabinet discusses the issue.

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According to the news outlet Axios, which cited two anonymous US officials, Washington is concerned that suspending the transfer will only serve to further destabilise the PA and its security services in the occupied West Bank, which largely coordinates with and carries out directives issued by the Israeli occupation.

“We asked them to release [the money],” one of the American officials is quoted as saying. “The Palestinian Authority is doing everything it can to keep security and stability in the West Bank. It is vastly under sourced. This is another aspect of the problem.”

The Biden administration subsequently asked officials in Netanyahu’s office and his Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, for clarification regarding the decision. “We told them that such a move undermines the Palestinian Authority and the stability in the West Bank and goes against Israeli interests. We can’t just let everything collapse,” one official said.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Tony Blinken told the Senate Appropriations Committee that the Biden administration has urged Tel Aviv to provide the Palestinian Authority with the resources it needs, including its tax revenues.