Tel Aviv, Israel – Israeli government authorities decided on Monday to withhold Palestinian “clearance” funds again, cutting off the largest part of them and freezing the remainder, which puts the Palestinian Authority in an unprecedented economic and living crisis.
Smotrich’s arbitrary decisions
The office of Israel’s extremist finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced that Israel had deducted about 590 million shekels (about $197.7 million) from a total of 740 million shekels collected this month on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.
The statement added that these deductions were made to settle “outstanding debts” owed to Israeli electricity, water, and environmental organizations.
Not content with this, the occupation authorities decided to freeze the remaining balance entirely, as part of a retaliatory policy led by Smotrich in response to Palestinian diplomatic and legal efforts at the International Criminal Court and other UN institutions.
The “clearance funds” are the Palestinian Authority’s primary source of revenue, encompassing taxes and customs duties levied on goods imported through Israeli-controlled crossings.
Since 2019, these funds have been transformed into a tool of political blackmail, rendering the PA unable to meet its obligations to pay salaries and support the private sector, amidst a staggering accumulation of withheld debt exceeding $4.4 billion.
Palestinian anger
For his part, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa described these measures as “another form of occupation,” emphasizing that Israel’s siege is not limited to Gaza, but extends to strangling the West Bank and Jerusalem through political, security, and colonial means.
Mustafa explained that the deductions have escalated sharply over the past year, with Israel not transferring any actual funds to the treasury. He stressed that the government is working diligently to thwart the occupation’s plans aimed at “bringing the Palestinian people to their knees.”
