Israel announced its intention to transfer tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the occupied West Bank.
Israel would withhold funds designated for Gaza, which Hamas rules.
Israel cuts Gaza funds: The Israeli cabinet announced that it would also withhold funds to offset stipends the PA gives to Palestinian militants and their families, following a dispute over whether to make the transfer as Israel fights Hamas in Gaza.
The PA, which has previously rejected cut tax transfers, did not immediately respond. Estimates suggest that the PA spends approximately thirty percent of its funds in Gaza, where it also covers social aid and medical expenses.
The PA, supported by the West, has some autonomy in the West Bank but does not have administrative authority over Gaza. Hamas took control of Gaza after a brief civil war in 2007. Thousands of Gaza civil servants are still employed by the PA.
Israel collects taxes on behalf of the Palestinians under interim peace agreements, and upon approval from the finance minister, they usually send them to the PA on a monthly basis. They were suppose to reveal the most recent transfer by the end of October.
After the group’s deadly attack in Israel on October 7, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich refused to deliver the funds, claiming the PA was aiding the “horrific massacres of the Nazi terror organisation Hamas.”
“Israeli Cabinet Rejects Funding for Gaza and Fighter Families Amid Increased Violence in West Bank”
Yoav Gallant, the minister of defense, appealed to him to allow the distribution of the funds to help stabilize the unstable West Bank, where there was an increase in violence following the Hamas attack. However, he had turned down his request.
Amid the requests of both ministers, the cabinet announced that financing for Gaza and the families of fighters would not be provided.
“On the preceding Thursday, PA President Mahmoud Abbas announced that Gaza was involved in “a war of genocide and massacres” and issued a call for an immediate halt to Israeli bombardment, as well as the release of detainees.” Additionally, he has denounced the death of civilians on all sides.
The tax monies, along with foreign donor funding, provide for the majority of the cash-strapped PA’s governmental income. They also assist in covering the cost of salaries for civil servants and other services provided by the West Bank.
“Following Israel’s reduction of the allocated amount to aid the families of Palestinian combatants who were imprison or killed, the Palestinians rejected tax revenue again in 2019.”