A spokesperson for Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich revealed on Tuesday that Israel will begin deducting funds from those collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to help settle its increasing debts due to electricity consumption in the West Bank. The spokesperson stated that the debts owed by the Palestinian Authority for electricity use have reached two billion shekels (528 million dollars) to the Israeli state-run electricity company.
He noted that the deducted amount will be calculated based on the quantity of electricity purchased by the Palestinian Authority each month, explaining that it could reach 20 or 30 million shekels and described this measure as legal. He said, "These debts must be repaid as stipulated in the agreements."
The Palestinian Authority has been unable to pay salaries to civil employees for two years due to its financial difficulties. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh stated that Israel's deduction of additional amounts is "systematic piracy and theft" of Palestinian funds, arguing that the electricity company is a private entity not affiliated with the Palestinian Authority. He described this step as a "financial war that complements the ongoing political war against our people, which aims (by the occupying authorities) to undermine our people's dream of obtaining their rights and establishing their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital."
