The Israeli government has completed a transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars to the Palestinian Authority in an effort to help relieve a burgeoning economic crisis in the West Bank.
The PA, in dire financial straits ever since Israel froze tax transfers in February, said on Thursday that an "agreement was reached a few days ago with the Israeli side for transferring duties on oil and fuel which the Palestinian Authority bought in Israel to the amount of around two billion shekels ($570 million)."
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Israel, which collects taxes on behalf of the PA, has withheld the funds for months because they are partly used to pay monthly stipends to convicted terrorists and their families.
As a result, public officials, teachers and other public employees in the West Bank have received only partial salaries, with the PA blaming the Netanyahu government for stoking what it described as a "tax crisis."
PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh announced on Thursday that the PA had "already paid its employees in full for the month of August plus a portion of their salaries in retroactive pay."
Israel has also reportedly agreed to temporarily exempt Arabs in the West Bank from paying taxes on fuel, in an effort to stimulate the local economy, according to Israeli public broadcaster Channel 11 News.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS.
