Israel’s Tax Cuts on Palestine
According to the news by WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency, based on data from the Ministry of Finance, the Tel Aviv administration continues to withhold taxes collected on behalf of Palestine. It was emphasized that since October 7, 2023, occupying Israel has held 2.83 billion shekels (approximately 765 million dollars) from taxes allocated to Gaza. While this situation deepens the economic difficulties of the Palestinian people, Taxes on products passing through Israel’s border with JordanIt was stated that he had been detained for years. The total amount of held taxes reached 7.26 billion shekels (approximately $2 billion).
147 thousand civilian and military employees in Palestine have been underpaid since 2021 because the government cannot find the financial revenues necessary to pay their salaries in full. This situation negatively affects the living standards of employees in the public sector and leads to social unrest.
Withholding of Israeli Customs Duties
Occupied Palestine continues its dependence on Israel in its foreign trade, and almost all of Palestinians’ imports and exports are carried out through Israel or through Israeli-controlled points. In this context, Israel has long been making deductions from customs duties collected on behalf of the Palestinian government.
In accordance with the Paris Economic Protocol signed with the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1994, the Israeli administration collected taxes for the Palestinian administration from the border gates under its control and transferred approximately 190 million dollars monthly to the Palestinian treasury. However, for the last two years, these taxes have been deducted and this puts the Palestinian economy in an even more difficult situation.
In November 2023, the occupying Israeli Council of Ministers decided to cut the amount allocated to the Gaza Strip and Palestinian detainees from the tax fund collected on behalf of the Palestinian government. After this decision, the Palestinian administration refused to receive the tax fund, and the Palestinian Ministry of Finance announced that it had cut off a large portion of the tax fund that Israel had collected since October. Therefore, the Palestinian government does not want to receive this funding.
