Israel To Deduct Palestinians Funds

Israel will begin deducting money from funds it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, PA to help pay down the PA’s growing debt for electricity use in the West Bank, a spokesman for Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich said.

The spokesman said the PA’s debt owed to state-run Israel Electric Corp, IEC for electricity usage has reached 2 billion shekels ($528 million).

He noted that the amount to be deducted would depend on how much electricity the PA buys each month and could reach 20 million or 30 million shekels, adding that the action was legal.

“That debt will have to be paid for as noted in agreements,” he said.

The PA has not been able to pay civil salaries for two years due to its financial woes.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh said Israeli deductions of additional amounts of money were a systematic piracy and theft of Palestinian money since the electricity company was a private company that doesn’t belong to the PA.

He also said the move was “a financial war that isn’t isolated from the ongoing political war against our people and that aims to undermine our people’s hope in gaining their rights and establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.”

REUTERS/Christopher Ojilere