Two Moroccan Opposition Parties Call for Confronting ‘Government Dominance’

Idris Lachkar and Nabil Benabdallah during the signing of the joint political statement. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Idris Lachkar and Nabil Benabdallah during the signing of the joint political statement. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Two Moroccan Opposition Parties Call for Confronting ‘Government Dominance’

Idris Lachkar and Nabil Benabdallah during the signing of the joint political statement. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Idris Lachkar and Nabil Benabdallah during the signing of the joint political statement. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Two Moroccan opposition parties, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces and the Party of Progress and Socialism, have called for confronting “the numerical dominance of the government”.

In a joint statement issued on Friday, they urged the formation of a national front and the emergence of a civilian movement.

The statement was issued following a meeting on Friday between Idris Lachkar, General Secretary of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces, and Nabil Benabdallah, General Secretary of the Party of Progress and Socialism in Rabat.

A joint committee was established for coordination between both parties.

Moreover, the political bureaus of these parties held a consultive meeting.

The institutions have lost the necessary balance to achieve democracy and development following the 2021 elections that were overwhelmed by corrupt practices, according to the statement.

The parties stressed that the national front should be tasked with inserting a new spirit into politics in order to restore the status of political and partisan activity, reconcile citizens with public affairs, restore confidence in political, institutional, and electoral work, and provide decent conditions for political competence and intact elections.

They highlighted that the current economic and social challenges are an opportunity to carry out reforms, further expressing willingness to perform their institutional and public tasks in a committed and patriotic manner in all sectors.



Israel to Use Withheld Palestinian Tax Income to Pay Electric Co Debt

Smoke rises from Jenin in the occupied West Bank, during clashes between militants and the Palestinian Authority's security forces, inside the Jenin refugee camp, on January 12, 2025. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Smoke rises from Jenin in the occupied West Bank, during clashes between militants and the Palestinian Authority's security forces, inside the Jenin refugee camp, on January 12, 2025. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Israel to Use Withheld Palestinian Tax Income to Pay Electric Co Debt

Smoke rises from Jenin in the occupied West Bank, during clashes between militants and the Palestinian Authority's security forces, inside the Jenin refugee camp, on January 12, 2025. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Smoke rises from Jenin in the occupied West Bank, during clashes between militants and the Palestinian Authority's security forces, inside the Jenin refugee camp, on January 12, 2025. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Israel plans to use tax revenue it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to pay the PA's nearly 2 billion shekel ($544 million) debt to state-run Israel Electric Co (IEC), Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Sunday.

Israel collects tax on goods that pass through Israel into the occupied West Bank on behalf of the PA and transfers the revenue to Ramallah under a longstanding arrangement between the two sides.

Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, triggered the war in Gaza, Smotrich has withheld sums totaling 800 million shekels earmarked for administration expenses in Gaza.

Those frozen funds are held in Norway and, he said at Sunday's cabinet meeting, would instead be used to pay debt owed to the IEC of 1.9 billion shekels, Reuters reported.

"The procedure was implemented after several anti-Israeli actions and included Norway's unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state," Smotrich told cabinet ministers.

"The PA's debt to IEC resulted in high loans and interest rates, as well as damage to IEC's credit, which were ultimately rolled over to the citizens of Israel."

The Palestinian Finance Ministry said it had agreed for Norway to release a portion of funds from an account held since last January with 1.5 billion shekels, calling money in the account "a punitive measure linked to the government’s financial support for Gaza.”

The ministry said as part of the deal, 767 million shekels of the Norwegian-held funds will pay Israeli fuel companies for weekly fuel purchases over the coming months. A similar amount will be used to settle electricity-related debts owed by Palestinian distribution companies to IEC.

Smotrich has been opposed to sending funds to the PA, which uses the money to pay public sector wages. He accuses the PA of supporting the Oct. 7 attack in Israel led by Hamas, which controlled Gaza. The PA is currently paying 50-60% of salaries.

Israel also deducts funds equal to the total amount of so-called martyr payments, which the PA pays to families of militants and civilians killed or imprisoned by Israeli authorities.

The Palestinian finance ministry said 2.1 billion shekels remain withheld by Israel, bringing the total withheld funds to over 3.6 billion shekels as of 2024.

Israel, it said, began deducting an average of 275 million shekels monthly from its tax revenues in October 2023, equivalent to the government’s monthly allocations for Gaza.

"This has exacerbated the financial crisis, as the government continues to transfer these allocations directly to the accounts of public servants in Gaza," the ministry said.

It added it was working with international partners to secure the release of these funds as soon as possible.