On Sunday morning, Israeli officials approved a plan to transfer frozen Palestinian Authority (PA) tax funds from Gaza to Norway, which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The plan was presented to Israel's political-security cabinet at the request of the Biden administration.
The agreement was reached following intensive negotiations between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Senior US officials led by Ambassador Jack Lew, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Smotrich insisted that the $73,425,000 million funds per month would not reach Gaza or any PA authorities in the Strip. On Sunday, the Israeli prime minister's office released a statement saying that the frozen funds will not be transferred to the PA but will remain in the hands of a third country.
The office said, "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."
According to an agreement made in the 1990s, Israel collects tax on behalf of the Palestinians and submits monthly transfers to the PA pending the approval of the Ministry of Finance.
Many of the PA's public sector employees in the enclave were paid with transferred tax revenues even after the PA was forced to leave the Strip in 2007. However, Israeli authorities chose to withhold funds intended for the Gaza Strip nearly a month after the October 7 attack.
Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was the only government official who opposed sending the funds to Norway. Ben-Gvir said the plan does not assure that the funds will not be transferred to Gaza.
He stated that Netanyahu was constantly pushing the red line. He shared that they started moving flour trucks last week, and now they are making a decision that does not guarantee that the money will not reach the Nazis from Gaza.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant demanded the distribution of funds to sustain sustainability in the occupied West Bank, which has been a source of friction within the Israeli war cabinet.
PA Rejects Financial Rights Deduction
The PA declined to accept a partial money transfer in response to the money deduction. Senior PA official Hussein al-Sheikh wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that any deductions from their financial rights or any conditions imposed by Israel that prevent the PA from paying their people in the Gaza Strip would be rejected by them.
"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 continued.
Nour Odeh, a political analyst based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, claimed that Israel was punishing and undermining the PA by abusing its control over tax income.
"It's a way for Israel to assert how much control it has on everything, including the PA's ability to function," Odeh added.
According to Aljazeera, Odeh noted that it was a way for Israel to assert how much control it has over everything, including the PA's ability to function. Furthermore, withholding the revenues will have a huge impact because those employed by the PA will not receive their salaries at a time when many are starving due to Israel's siege and war.
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