Israeli Cabinet has approved a plan to transfer frozen Palestinian tax funds to Norway instead of transferring them to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
“The frozen funds will not be transferred to the Palestinian Authority, but will remain in the hands of a third country,” Israeli Prime Ministerial Office said on X on Sunday, January 21.
“The money or its consideration will not be transferred under any circumstances, except with the approval of the Minister of Finance of Israel, not even through a third party,” it said.
“Any violation of the agreement will allow the Finance Minister to immediately freeze all Palestinian financial payments.”
The cabinet’s decision on tax funds was backed by Norway and the US, who will serve as guarantor of the framework’s validity.
Taking to X, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote, “Not a single shekel will go to Gaza and this time the policy is backed by America.”
In response, PLO Executive Committee Secretary General Hussein Al-Sheikh wrote on X, “Any deductions from our financial rights or any conditions imposed by Israel that prevent the PA from paying our people in the Gaza Strip are rejected by us.”
“We call on the international community to stop this behavior based on piracy and stealing the money of the Palestinian people and force Israel to transfer all of our money,” he added.
On Monday, October 30, Bezalel Smotrich froze the transfer of tax revenues amounting to some 188 million dollars monthly to the PA, according to Israeli media.
The funds withheld due to the Ramallah authority’s failure to condemn the Hamas October 7 attack on Israeli territory, which initiated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Israeli army has intensified its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to relentless airstrikes since Hamas’ surprise offensive on October 7.
Since October 7, over 25,000 deaths, 63,000 injuries, 1.9 million displacements, and significant destruction of infrastructure in Gaza Strip.
