The Finance Ministry has found a legal solution that would enable Israel to deal with the Palestinian Authority's electricity debt in Judea and Samaria and East Jerusalem for the first time in three decades.
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Under the outline, the government will deduct millions of shekels from funds collected on behalf of the PA to transfer to the Israel Electric Company monthly.
Video: IDF investigating alleged rocket fire from Jenin / Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
The PA's debt currently stands at two billion shekels, funds that Israel has had a hard time collecting even despite of previous debt payment agreements.
The news comes three months after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered his advisers to find a solution to the matter. The move is legal under a law enacted following the Oslo Accords that allows Israel to deduct funds destined for the PA to offset its debt.
The dilemma of Palestinian debt has long troubled Israeli lawmakers, with the 2021 State Comptroller report warning that it was the main reason for the continued struggles of the Israel Electric Company.
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