Palestinian Authority accuses Israel of piracy

The Palestinian Presidency issued a statement regarding the Israeli government's continued withholding of tax and import duty revenues that it is required to pay to the Palestinian Authority.

The statement, which noted that this situation would have negative effects on every aspect of life, also recorded that Israel's decision to cut the revenues allocated to Gaza constitutes a war crime.

Emphasizing that this stance by Israel amounts to piracy and the collective punishment of the Palestinian people, the statement included the following:

"The State of Palestine will not refrain from meeting all the needs of prisoners, martyrs, and Gaza. It will absolutely not stop transferring the necessary tax revenues to Gaza.

The State will continue to fulfill its duties regarding health, education, water, electricity, and the salaries of government employees in Gaza."

The Palestinian Presidency also called on the US administration to pressure Israel to stop these crimes committed against the Palestinians.

The Israeli government had decided today to make deductions from the Palestinian Authority's revenues on the grounds that they would be allocated to the Gaza Strip.

Israel collects customs duties on goods imported into Palestine on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and makes an average monthly payment of 190 million dollars to the administration.

In November, the Palestinian Authority refused to accept the payment made by Israel (approximately 162 million dollars) after Israel cut the amount allocated to Gaza, and returned it to Israel.

The Israeli administration, which objects to the Palestinian Authority providing financial aid to prisoners in Israeli jails, their families, and the families of martyrs, passed a law in 2018 regarding its right to deduct a portion of the Palestinians' customs duties.

According to the Paris Economic Protocol signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1994, the Israeli administration is required to transfer the 2 billion dollars it collects annually on behalf of the Palestinians from the border crossings under its control to the Palestinian treasury.