Justice minister moves to deduct Palestinian debt from PA’s tax revenue

Has a solution been found for financial transactions not honored by Palestinians?

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked is exploring the possibility of using the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) tax revenue, which Israel collects on the PA’s behalf, to pay off debts owed by Palestinian individuals to Israelis, her office announced.

Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, a mechanism was set up by which Israel collects taxes, value-added tax and customs fees on behalf of the PA, amounting to approximately $100 million a month.

Palestinian debts to Israelis currently stand at some 500 million shekels ($140 million), which the PA has been unable to collect from 20,716 individuals.

This involves 53,506 cases in which court orders or writs of execution have been issued by the Justice Ministry’s Enforcement and Collection Authority in cases where Israelis involved in transactions with Palestinians were not paid or provided the service for which they had paid.

All cases involve transactions under NIS 75,000 ($21,000).

Shaked has reportedly asked her office to explore whether the PA could be held liable for the debts and whether Israel could deduct these sums from the PA’s monthly tax revenue.

By: JNS.org

Ayelet ShakedOslo Accords