Palestine – The Palestinian Ministry of Finance reported on Sunday that it will pay fifty percent of the salaries of Palestinian Authority employees in the civil and military sectors for the month of March last year within two days, as the financial crisis it is experiencing continues.
The ministry added in a statement, “Given that Israel has not transferred April clearance funds so far, the ministry, in light of the available financial capabilities, will disburse employees’ salaries for the month of March on Tuesday, 5/14/2024, at a rate of 50 percent, with a minimum limit of 2,000 shekels.”
The ministry continued in its statement, “The rest of the outstanding dues to date are owed to the employees and will be disbursed when financial capabilities permit.”
Israel collects tax money on goods that pass through it to the Palestinian market in exchange for a three percent commission, as it controls all the crossings that connect the West Bank to the outside world.
The past years witnessed a delay in transferring these funds, which led to the inability of the Palestinian Authority to fulfill its financial obligations over two and a half years, whether to its employees or suppliers from the private sector.
Data from the Ministry of Finance indicate that the debts accumulated by the Palestinian Authority exceeded $11 billion, whether to its employees or to local and foreign banks, the retirement fund, and its service providers in various sectors, which is close to twice its general budget.
The Palestinian Authority says that the total amount of clearing funds held by Israel has reached six billion shekels.
During the past year, Israel decided to withhold the value of the money paid by the Palestinian Authority to families who lost their children in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and to Palestinian detainees, and demanded that the Palestinian Authority not disburse money to them.
($1 = 3.73 shekels)
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2024-05-13 01:50:46