Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Wednesday his country will work with Norway “to put a fund on the table” to help compensate the Palestinian government in the West Bank for tax revenue being withheld by Israel.
“Israel is trying to annihilate the idea and possibility of a Palestinian state with bombs in Gaza in a veritable massacre,” Albares said on a visit to Egypt.
In February 2024, Norway said it would transfer tax funds to the PA that had been frozen for months because of a dispute with Israel.
Israel collects taxes and customs on behalf of the PA, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank and also helps pay for public services in Gaza.
After Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack triggered the war in Gaza, Israel has periodically refused to make the transfers, with far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saying the funds were supporting terror.