RAMALLAH, Thursday, December 05, 2019 (WAFA) – The Palestine Monetary Authority denied today that there was any problem with regards to exchanging shekels for foreign currency.

The Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) denied in a press release that there was any problem regarding the exchanging of shekel for foreign currencies.

“The problems related to the crisis arising from the surplus of shekel in the banks operating in Palestine are routine, and the PMA has been addressing them for several years successfully. So, this issue is not related to any other crises,” the statement read.

The PMA made this statement in response to Israeli media reports claiming that the so-called Coordinator of Government Affairs in the Territories (COGAT) instructed the Bank of Israel to stop allowing shekels in the occupied West Bank from being exchanged for other currencies.

COGAT took this move in response to the Palestinian government’s decision to bar the imports of Israeli cattle and other livestock, and begin importing calves from other countries.

The Israeli military’s oxymoronically named Civil Administration is a part of COGAT. Soldiers in the Civil Administration and COGAT determine where Palestinians may live, where and when they may travel (including to other parts of the occupied territories like Gaza and East Jerusalem), whether they can build or expand homes on their own land, whether they own that land at all, whether an Israeli settler can steal that land, whether two soccer teams from different parts of Palestine can play each other, and on and on.

K.F.