Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide announced today, Thursday, that his country has agreed to act as a mediator to help unfreeze the tax funds allocated to the Palestinian Authority that are being held by Israel. The Israeli Ministry of Finance collects taxes on behalf of the Palestinians and transfers them monthly to the Palestinian Authority, following the interim peace agreements signed in the 1990s. However, Israel has not made any payments since November after the outbreak of war between it and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip in October.
Officials on January 21 stated that the Israeli government approved a plan allowing the transfer of frozen Palestinian tax funds designated for Hamas-controlled Gaza to Norway instead of transferring them to the Palestinian Authority. Barth Eide said on Thursday that Norway has agreed to act as a mediator for the transfer of tax funds, but details are still being prepared. He added to Reuters, "Work is currently underway to try to put a framework for this solution. We are in dialogue with both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities and other stakeholders," without providing further details.
Barth Eide expressed deep concern about the financial situation of the Palestinian Authority, describing it as "critical." He stated that, in addition, the freezing of funds "endangers the Palestinian Authority's ability to provide essential services such as paying the salaries of healthcare workers, teachers, and others." Access to this revenue is a pressing necessity for the survival of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Many Western countries, including the United States, want the Palestinian Authority to play a role in managing Gaza after the war ends. Norway is part of an international effort to form a broad Palestinian unity government, in which Western countries aim for the Palestinian Authority to play a key role.
