ISTANBUL

Israel is using financial tools as weapons to destroy Palestinian lives by withholding tax revenues and restricting banking transactions, a UN expert said Thursday.

"It is no longer only a case of bullets. It is no longer a case of actual killing. It is an actual case of the use of financial tools to destroy human life," UN independent expert on foreign debt and human rights Attiya Waris told reporters at the New York headquarters.

Waris said taxes can be used to "build arms, use arms, sell arms and kill people," but they are also being weaponized "by withholding them."

She cited a letter she wrote to Israel on the Palestinian Authority's failure to receive its share of taxpayer revenue. "The result of this withholding of taxpayer revenue means that hospitals are being shut down," Waris said.

She also highlighted Israel's use of anti-money laundering provisions to restrict cross-border transactions.

Waris said anti-money laundering and terrorism waivers have been lifted on two Israeli banks previously allowed to send transactions to the Palestinian Authority.

"Which means it is not safe for those two Israeli banks to continue to trade," she said, noting it represents another form of financial warfare through illicit financial flow restrictions.

Since October 2023, the onslaught by Israel has killed more than 68,200 victims and injured over 170,300 in its genocidal war against the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The first phase of US President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza ceasefire deal was reached Oct. 10. It includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.