Israel to give Palestine $100 million in held taxes
Palestinian municipal employees put in place a huge banner in support of the Palestinian UN bid for statehood at the United Nations on the facade of the former city hall in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem.
After a tough December, Israel is finally giving Palestine its tax revenue. Israel is transferring $100 million to the Palestinian Authority, officials announced today. The Prime Minister's office says that the money transfer is “due to the financial hardship facing the PA," the Times of Israel reported.
Israel normally collects about $100 million in tax revenues and customs each month on behalf of the Palestinians, but withheld the money in December to protest Palestine's upgraded status in the UN.
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The monthly tax transfers amount to two-thirds of the Palestinian Authority’s domestic revenue, the Washington Post reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's original decision to withhold the December funds left the Palestinian Authority struggling to pay its 150,000 employees.
This doesn't mean that Palestine can count on seeing future tax revenue. Israeli officials say that the money transfer is a one-time deal, Reuters reported, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has still not formally ended sanctions against Palestine.