The Palestinian Authority (PA) said on Thursday it will slash the wages of tens of thousands of its employees after its protest action against Israel's annexation plans in the occupied West Bank deepened a cash crisis.
Its economy already battered by the coronavirus pandemic, the PA, which has limited self-rule in the West Bank under interim peace deals, last month rejected handovers of taxes that Israel collects on its behalf.
The transfers, about $190 million a month, make up more than half of the PA's budget and stem from duties on imports that reach the West Bank and Gaza via Israeli ports. The PA snubbed the taxes after declaring bilateral agreements with Israel null in May.