PA official condemns Israel withholding tax revenues

Director of the Palestinian Government Media Center, Ghassan Khatib, Sunday condemned a statement by Israeli Minister of Finance, Yuval Steinitz, that Tel Aviv will continue to withhold the Palestinian Authority’s tax revenues if it achieves reconciliation with Hamas. Khatib told Voice of Palestine that these statements aim to cover “the Israeli theft of our money,” which opposes all signed agreements between the two sides. He said that Israel’s continued withholding of the PA’s revenues will affect its ability to fulfill its financial commitments to public sector employees, importers and contractors, pointing out that these revenues represent two thirds of the PA’s income.