Israel unfroze Palestinians funds 'for stability, humanitarian reasons'
PA minister says NIS 1.8m in funds to be transferred to Palestinian Authority in upcoming days; Israel explains move as attempt to maintain stability, 'despite Palestinian infringements of past deals.'
Israel decided to unfreeze around $500 million in Palestinian tax funds to "maintain regional stability" and because of "humanitarian reasons," an Israeli official said Saturday. A Palestinian minister said Sunday he believed the funds, some of which are still being held as back pay for past debts, will be transferred by Monday.
In December, Israel began withholding around $130 million per month of taxes it collects on behalf of the Palestinians after the Palestinian Authority announced it was joining the International Criminal Court (ICC). The move forced the Western-backed Palestinian Authority to cut most of its employees' salaries by 40 percent and to resort to an emergency budget.
Recently, Ynet reported that Israel was mulling unfreezing the funds after the IDF said the lack of money could destabilize the Palestinian Authority.
"Despite the fact that the Palestinian Authority broke its agreements, Israel decided that transfer the money because of our responsibility to regional stability and humanitarian considerations," a top Israeli official told Ynet.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh told Ma'an late Saturday that the transfer would take place by Monday.
President Mahmoud Abbas informed a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization of the coming transfers on Saturday, and said a joint Israeli-Palestinian committee would discuss outstanding sums.
Israel agreed last month to resume the transfers and said it would pay $400 million, having deducted money it said the Palestinians owed for utilities and medical treatment.
However, Abbas said he would not accept this sum since Israel had made its deductions unilaterally. The current agreement appears to have resolved this issue.
According to an agreement reached Friday night between Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Yoav Mordechai, outstanding debts the Palestinian Authority has to Israel for the months of December, January and February, will be deducted from the tax funds.
Israel's state-owned electric corporation says it is owed about $510,000 by the Palestinians.
"An agreement was reached to send three months' worth of funds in full and a joint (Palestinian-Israeli) committee will discuss all the amounts that belong to us and what we owe," Abbas said.
The Palestinian Authority employs some 160,000 people in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the rival Islamist Hamas movement.
Reuters contributed to this report
