Palestinian government stands before hard financial situation: PM

Ramallah (Palestine), December 7: Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye on Monday announced that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is standing before a very difficult financial situation.
An official statement said that Ishtaye told the weekly meeting of the cabinet, held in the West Bank city of Ramallah that the financial situation of the government is difficult because Israel is withholding the Palestinian tax revenue dues.
"The conditions we are living in are difficult; we are in financial deficit," Ishtaye told the cabinet members, adding that the PA has not received aid to pay salaries, estimated at a monthly cost of 292 million U.S. dollars.
"The value of Israel's deductions for the past month amounted to about 68 million U.S. dollars," Ishtaye said.
In November, the World Bank warned that the Palestinian government may not be able to fulfill its obligations by the end of this year unless Israel stops its tax deductions, responds to addressing outstanding financial issues, and resumes donor aid.
According to the peace agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinians, Israel collects taxes on behalf of the PA and then transfers the revenue dues to the Palestinian Ministry of Finance.
Source: Xinhua