RAMALLAH, Thursday, June 06, 2019 (WAFA) - Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said that our people are going through a financial crisis, as a result of Israel’s deduction from the salary that the PA pays to families of martyrs and prisoners. “We refuse to transfer these funds because they are incomplete and we want them in full.”

Shtayyeh said in a video posted on his personal Face book account that the financial pressure practiced by Israel is part of a financial war aimed at forcing us to surrender and accept the US so-called ‘deal of the century’, stressing that the Palestinian people will not be defeated and will only accept justice based on the establishment of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and implementing the right of return for refugees.

He noted that President Mahmoud Abbas has called for the activation of the Arab safety net during the Arab and Islamic summits in Makkah in Saudi Arabia, adding that we also directed the international community to forces Israel to uphold its responsibilities because what Israel is doing is contrary to the Paris Economic Agreement.

The Prime Minister said that the government has been forced over the past months to borrow money from banks and will continue to do so, pointing out that despite the difficult situation we will remain loyal to the families of martyrs and prisoners.

T.R.