Most of the tax revenue collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA) this month was deducted to pay the PA's bills, a statement from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's office said.
The move is a continuation of Smotrich's firm political and economic stance toward the Palestinian Authority. In line with his decision, Israel did not transfer this month’s tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to the government in Ramallah.
Out of a total of more than 740 million shekels collected this month, extensive deductions totaling approximately 590 million shekels were made.
These funds were redirected to cover the Palestinian Authority’s accumulated debts to the Israel Electric Corporation, water utilities, and environmental bodies. Additional deductions were made from funds the PA had allocated to transfer to terror-related entities and families of terrorists.
The remaining balance was frozen and not transferred, as part of a policy led by the Minister over the past year, protesting the PA’s actions against Israel in international institutions (such as the Hague court) and its encouragement of terrorism.
Smotrich emphasized that the policy is intended to ensure that “not a single shekel meant to encourage terror is transferred," and that Israel is acting responsibly to protect its economic interests while collecting debts that had long burdened Israeli citizens.