Israel Activates Economic Measures In Favor of Palestinian Authority

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh unveils the cornerstone for the Palestine wheat silos project in the village of Burham. (Wafa)
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh unveils the cornerstone for the Palestine wheat silos project in the village of Burham. (Wafa)
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Israel Activates Economic Measures In Favor of Palestinian Authority

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh unveils the cornerstone for the Palestine wheat silos project in the village of Burham. (Wafa)
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh unveils the cornerstone for the Palestine wheat silos project in the village of Burham. (Wafa)

The Israeli government began to offer a number of economic facilities to the Palestinian Authority, lately approved under heavy pressure from Washington.

Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom reported on Sunday that Israel has recently slashed the gasoline tax it had been collecting from the Palestinian Authority by 50%, and has taken other measures to ease the financial situation in Ramallah.

Israeli authorities decided to collect a 1.5% gasoline tax instead of 3% from the PA, a measure that will save the Authority some 80 million shekels ($20 million) on an annual basis, according to the newspaper.

In 2023, the Israeli cabinet had taken other steps to support the Palestinian Authority's economy. These efforts include increased tax payments in favor of the PA, which now average 730 million shekels per month, compared to around half a million three years ago.

Early this year, the cabinet had announced it approved lowering the so-called “blue tax” that it levies from the PA on fuel transfers from three percent to 1.5%; raising the percentage of revenues it transfers to Ramallah from the fees it collects from travelers at the Allenby border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan; and expanding the list of tax-free imports that it facilitates on the PA’s behalf.

The Israeli government has only implemented the preliminary measures, while it said the list of tax-free imports will be updated later through the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Economic Committee.

The Committee was established under the Oslo Accords, with an aim to regulate the economic relations between Israel and the PA.

It has not convened since 2009, as a result of the political tension between the parties

The PA demands that Israel implements all three measures. Israel had previously refused, but lately accepted under ongoing pressure from the administration of US President Joe Biden.

Israeli officials said that Israeli far-right ministers, like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who oversees the Tax Authority and the Civil Administration in Israel, also approved this decision. They said the move aligns with the Biden administration's call to improve the economic situation in the Palestinian Authority, which is believed to be on the brink of economic collapse.

The three measures could add millions of dollars to the coffers of the PA, currently going through a deteriorating financial crisis, the worst since its establishment.

For the second consecutive year, the Palestinian Authority is paying partial salaries to most of its employees due to the crisis.

Last July, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet decided that Israel would work to prevent the collapse of the PA.

The Israeli government withholds huge amounts of money in tax revenues on the PA’s behalf and hands them to the families of Israelis killed in Palestinian attacks.



Israel Declares 'New Phase' of War, Netanyahu Promises to Return Citizens of the North

FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
TT

Israel Declares 'New Phase' of War, Netanyahu Promises to Return Citizens of the North

FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday that Israel was “at the start of a new phase in the war” amid rising tension with Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

“We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance,” Gallant told Israeli troops.

He made no mention of the explosions of electronic devices in Lebanon but praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies, saying “the results are very impressive.”

Israeli leaders have issued a series of warnings in recent weeks that they might increase operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying they must put a stop to the cross-border exchanges to allow people to return to homes near the border.

Israel began moving more troops to its border with Lebanon on Wednesday as a precautionary measure, according to an official with knowledge of the movements who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In his comments, Gallant said that after months of fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip, “the center of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces.”

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu huddled with top security officials at Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, the country's army chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said plans have been drawn up for additional action against Hezbollah.

Israel will ensure that tens of thousands of residents evacuated from northern border areas will be able to go back home, Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

"I have said it before, we will return the citizens of the north to their homes in security and that's exactly what we are going to do," he said in a brief video statement, giving no further details.

Israeli sources with knowledge of the matter said the army had moved its 98th Division, which includes commando and paratrooper formations, from Gaza to the north.