PA reveals that almost $2 billion have been withheld by Israel

The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Finance announced on Wednesday that Palestinian tax revenues, known as “clearance funds”, that have been deducted by Israel and which it refuses to return, amount to 7.26 billion shekels (about $1.9bn).

According to the ministry, the deductions from the clearance funds, which Israel claims are the Gaza Strip allocations, amount to approximately 2.83bn shekels ($750 million) since 7 October, with an average of 257m shekels ($68m) per month. Israel deducts these funds as a punitive measure for the PA’s refusal to stop disbursing allocations to Gaza, especially the salaries of government employees, most notably those in the health and education sectors.

Nevertheless, the ministry pointed out that the government continues to fulfil its obligations to pay at least part of the salaries of employees in Gaza equal to the amount that government employees in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, receive.

Regarding the deductions claimed to be the allowances and stipends for the families of martyrs and prisoners paid by the PA from February 2019 until last month, the total amount now stands at 3.54bn shekels ($939m), with an average of 53.6m shekels ($14m) per month. Israel is still withholding these funds and refusing to release them.

In addition to the above funds being withheld by the occupation state, Israel continues to refuse to transfer the PA’s revenues from the departure tax on crossings to Jordan, which have accumulated over the years and now exceed 900m shekels ($239m).

Israeli deductions from the clearance funds for electricity, water, sewage and hospitals amounted to about 20.2bn shekels ($5.3bn) from 2012 until last month.

Israel refuses to audit the bills and deductions made from the clearance funds over the past few years, including the cost of the electricity and water for the Gaza Strip. For example, Israel has been deducting between 40-50m shekels ($10-13m) per month for the Gaza Strip’s consumption of electricity and water, while local companies have not transferred the funds they collect from citizens. This continued for many years until last October, when the occupation regime cut off electricity supplies to Gaza as one of the punitive steps against the Palestinians in the enclave.

In a new attempt to loot more Palestinian money, the Knesset recently approved a law for compensation for the families of Israelis killed, which came into effect in early June. It allows the occupation regime to deduct large sums of money, up to 10m shekels ($2.6m), from the clearance funds under the pretext of transferring them to each “harmed” member of these families. This will deepen the financial crisis and affect the PA’s ability to fulfil its obligations.

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