Interview: Israeli withholding of Palestinian tax dues leads to total security collapse: official

RAMALLAH, March 2 (Xinhua) — The Israeli withholding of Palestinian tax revenue dues would lead to full security deterioration in the Palestinian territories, a senior Palestinian official warned on Monday in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Mohamed Mustafa, deputy prime minister of the Palestinian unity government and the minister of national economy, said the Palestinian leadership addressed the international community with various letters explaining and warning of the danger of the Israeli decision to the entire security in the territories.

“The Palestinian tax revenue dues that Israel still withholds represent 70 percent of the Palestinian government’s treasure,” Mustafa explained, adding that “keeping to withhold the money will be unable for the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to pay the monthly salaries to its employees regularly.”

In early January, the Israeli government decided to withhold the tax revenue dues it collects on behalf of the PNA from Palestinian trades at crossing points under Israeli control, in response to PNA’s decision to join 20 international agencies and treaties, including Rome Statute and the International Criminal Court.

“Withholding the Palestinian tax dues is considered a severe violation to Oslo peace accords signed with Israel in 1993 and the protocol of Paris economical agreement signed in 1995 which organizes the economic ties between Israel and the PNA,” said Mustafa.

He warned that keeping the Palestinian money withheld “will certain influence cashing the salaries of the employees the PNA pays regularly every month.” There are 150,000 civil and security servants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip who get paid by the PNA.

“The Israeli action also influences the Palestinian economy in general and weakens the Palestinian power of purchase in the Palestinian territories,” Musrafa told Xinhua. In the past two months, the PNA was only able to cover 60 percent of the bill of its employees’ salaries.

The crisis of not paying salaries to employees negatively influenced local banks, according to Mustafa, who clarified that most of the employees had taken loans from these banks.

Meanwhile, “withholding the Palestinian tax dues negatively affect the growth of the Palestinian economy,” Mustafa said, adding that “the economic growth dropped last year to 1 percent for the first time since 2007, so this would lead to an increase of poverty and unemployment.”

He also said the Palestinian leadership “exerts tremendous efforts throughout intensive contacts held with the international community, mainly Europe and the United States, to pressure on Israel to release the Palestinian money, and we explain the negative consequences of the Israeli actions.”

“The unity government urged the international community to immediately intervene to stop the haphazard Israeli policies and measures which restrict and suffocate the Palestinian economy and block its growth, mainly the last Israeli decision of withholding the tax revenue dues.”

Mustafa noted that “unfortunately, all these efforts have not led to any fruitful results and Israel still withholds our money until the Israeli elections due to be held on March 17.” He also explained that the PNA is planning to carry out a series of measures on the ground against the Israeli decision.

“One of these measures is to seriously boycott the Israeli-made products,” Mustafa said, referring that every year, the Palestinians import Israeli products by paying four billion U.S. dollars. A high-ranking Palestinian committee was formed last month to work on boycotting Israeli products.

Mustafa said the Palestinians should take all needed measures to protect the Palestinian rights and the Palestinian economy, adding that his government works on strategies and plans which aim at helping to promote the Palestinian economy by freeing it from the agreements that block its growth.

Another measure Mustafa said “is to depend on local industrial products instead of only on the Israeli products, and such an action will minimize the annual cost for purchasing products from the Israeli markets.”

Meanwhile, Mustafa unveiled to Xinhua that there has been positive development in the respect of reconstruction in the Gaza Strip. Last summer, the Israeli large-scale military offensive against the coastal enclave led to heavily damages to houses and infrastructure in Gaza.

“Kuwait and Saud Arabia expressed readiness to increase their financial aid for reconstruction in the Gaza Strip,” Mustafa said, adding that “since the end of the offensive until now, the total fund received for reconstruction in Gaza reached only 300 million dollars.”