Ramallah refuses to accept deducted taxes from Israel

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Palestinian government on Wednesday refused to accept deducted tax revenues collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA), a Palestinian official said.

“We returned the funds to the Israeli side after finding that some 42 million shekels [roughly $11.5 million] had been deducted,” Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said in a statement.

Last week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said his government would refuse to accept tax revenue collected by Israel on behalf of the PA.

Abbas made the announcement after Israel said it would deduct some 502 million Israeli shekels (roughly $138 million) from the taxes thus collected.

Israel claims this amount is being paid out by the PA each month to the families of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel for staging attacks on Israeli targets.

Abbas says the PA will continue to pay monthly stipends to the families of Palestinian prisoners and martyrs.

Israel collects around $175 million each month in taxes on Palestinian imports and exports on behalf of the PA, for which tax revenue represents the main source of income.