Palestine finance minister warns ending banking ties with Israel would disrupt essential services

Palestinian Finance Minister Istifan Salameh warned on Wednesday that any disruption to banking ties with Israel would severely affect the Palestinian Authority’s ability to provide essential services, including electricity, water, and fuel.

Speaking about the Palestinian Authority’s financial situation, Salameh said the government had reached what he described as “the end of the line” economically and financially in its relationship with Israel.

He warned that severing banking relations would make daily life significantly more difficult for Palestinians by disrupting access to critical public services.

Salameh also said the ongoing cash liquidity crisis and shortage of Israeli shekels are not new problems, arguing that the long-term solution is to gradually reduce reliance on the Israeli currency because, according to him, Israel no longer wishes to maintain financial dealings with the Palestinian side.

The minister added that the Palestinian Authority has entered its 16th month without receiving full tax revenues, referring to the tax revenues that Israel collects on the Authority’s behalf under existing agreements.

According to Salameh, after servicing loans and other financial obligations, the Palestinian Authority is left with only about 100 million shekels per month, compared with estimated monthly funding requirements of around 1.5 billion shekels.