Israel has decided to withhold 600 million shekels ($176 million) of the tax revenue it collects for the Palestinian Authority to offset the latter’s compensation for “strikers” against the Jewish state.
Israel’s security cabinet voted to phase out the same amount of tax revenue that the Palestinian Authority has paid to the families of slain or wounded attackers, state-owned Kan TV was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
Israel sees the salaries as “indirect support for terrorism” and accuses them of “encouraging” Palestinian attacks against Israelis.
However, Palestinians say the salaries are welfare payments for needy families, the report added.
Israel collects a large portion of tax revenue on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and regularly transfers it to the latter.
In July 2018, the Israeli Parliament passed a law to deduct from tax revenue an amount equal to what the Palestinian Authority pays to the families of prisoners.
This action is expected to increase tensions between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip in a 1967 war and has since controlled or blockaded both regions despite international criticism.
— IANS
ksk/
(Only the title and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a shared source.)
dear reader,
Business Standard has always tried hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and that have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering has only strengthened our resolve and commitment to these ideals. Even during these difficult times arising from Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and up-to-date with reliable news, authoritative views and cutting-edge commentary on current issues of importance.
However, we have a request.
As we struggle with the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more so we can continue to bring you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you who have subscribed to our online content. More subscriptions to our online content can only help us achieve our goals of providing you with even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and reliable journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practice the journalism we are committed to.
Supporting quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
The digital editor
