Ramallah, West Bank – Palestinian President Rejects Tax Money From Israel

    4

    FILE PHOTO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting of Fatah Revolutionary Council, in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 6, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamad TorokmanRamallah, West Bank – The Palestinian Authority (PA) will no longer accept tax revenues collected on its behalf by Israel following its decision to trim the sum over the PA’s financial support of militants’ families, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said.

    Join our WhatsApp group

    Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email


    The cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, an interim self-government body set up following the 1993 Oslo peace accords, has suffered a series of financial blows in the past year.

    Under interim peace deals, Israel collects taxes in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip and makes monthly payments to the PA, which says it receives around $222 million each month.

    The Israeli Finance Ministry said on Wednesday it collects about 700 million shekels ($193 million) in Palestinian taxes and transfers around 600 million shekels of that to the Palestinian Authority after deducting payments for electricity, water, sewage and medical treatment services.

    On Sunday Israel said it would freeze about 5 percent of that against stipends the Palestinian Authority pays to families of Palestinians killed or jailed by Israel.

    In remarks made late on Tuesday and broadcast on Palestinian radio on Wednesday, Abbas said the PA would continue to pay out these stipends rather than accept a partial transfer of the tax revenues from Israel.

    “We reject the tax, we don’t want it,” Abbas told visiting U.S. congressmen. “Frankly, if we are left with only 20 or 30 million shekels, which is the sum paid to families of martyrs, then we will pay them to the families of martyrs,” he said.

    Israel and the United States say the stipend policy fans Palestinian violence while the Palestinians see the slain and jailed Palestinians as heroes of a national struggle.

    The United States last year passed legislation to sharply reduce aid to the Palestinian Authority unless it stopped the pay-outs. The measure, known as the Taylor Force Act, was named after a 29-year-old American military veteran fatally stabbed by a Palestinian while visiting Israel in 2016.

    Last month the Palestinians declined some $60 million in U.S. annual funding for their security forces, worried about exposure to lawsuits under new U.S. anti-terror laws.

    Washington has further slashed hundreds of millions of dollars to humanitarian organizations and U.N. agencies which aid the Palestinians as it seeks to pressure Abbas to enter peace negotiations with Israel. Peace talks have been frozen since 2014.

    The Palestinians suspended ties with Washington after President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017 and opened the new U.S. Embassy in the city in May.

    Israel has at times withheld the tax money over other matters.


    Listen to the VINnews podcast on:

    iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Podbean | Amazon

    Follow VINnews for Breaking News Updates


    Connect with VINnews

    Join our WhatsApp group


    4 Comments
    Most Voted
    Newest Oldest
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    abilenetx
    abilenetx
    5 years ago

    Thank you PA, for now Israel doesn’t have to feel guilty about something or anything or pay extortion money. I am wondering when they will start paying their electric bill????

    Haimov
    Haimov
    5 years ago

    Excellent. Give these money to Yeshivot!!!!

    BuckyinWisconsin
    BuckyinWisconsin
    5 years ago

    I was looking for the Reuter’s byline and of course found it. What disingenuous article. These palis are in jail for murdering innocent Jews in terrorist attacks or killed while in the act of murder. The article makes it sound like they are petty criminals lockeduk or just killed for any reason by israel typical reuters israel hating bias. These payments to families serve as pure incentive to murder innocents. Pali animals would rather starve than give up these payments. Good let them starve! Their Jew hatred knows no bounds. They would far rather hurt themselves and their “people” than stop their murderous Jew hatred. Pure animals. The Nazis taught them well the pigs!

    lazy-boy
    Active Member
    lazy-boy
    5 years ago

    Not only should the PA not get tax money to give to terrorists, but RATHER: the PA leaders should be arrested and put in jail (or more) for supporting and encouraging terror attacks against Israelis.

    Why does no one see this as a crime?