Transferring Palestinian tax revenues to Israeli families ‘unprecedented’ step for Israel

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has signed an order to deduct $35m of Palestinian tax revenues and transfer the funds to Israeli families whose members were killed in Palestinian attacks.

Israel collects Palestinian tax as part of the 1994 Paris agreement between the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) and it deducts 3 percent of the amount as a collection fee. The total revenue is estimated to be approximately $220m a month, making it the main source of income for the Palestinian Authority.

Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, says this an “unprecedented” step for Israel.

“They’ve legislated Palestinian money away, giving the finance minister in Israel the power to do with that money as he sees fit, whether it’s to compensate Israeli families affected by Palestinian attacks or to even direct it elsewhere and now he’s putting that into action,” Odeh said.

“This could potentially open the floodgates to a very serious financial crisis in the Palestinian Authority (PA) rooted in the political fact that Israel controls every aspect of life not just of ordinary Palestinians, but of the coffers of PA that is supposed to take care of them.”