RAMALLAH, Tuesday, August 23, 2022 (WAFA) – Prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh met today at his office in Ramallah with the Deputy Chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s Fiscal Affairs Department, Alexander Tieman, and discussed the upcoming Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) meeting of donor countries, scheduled for next month in New York.

Shtayyeh reaffirmed that the difficult financial situation and crisis facing the Palestinian government is due to the decline in international aid to Palestine, the continued unjust Israeli deductions of Palestinian money, and the government’s inability to access and exploit its resources in area C of the West Bank, which makes up more than 60 percent of the area of the West Bank and which is under full Israeli military control.

He stressed that the limited resources are caused by the unusual circumstances imposed by the occupation, urging the international community to deal realistically with the issue of Palestine and hold Israel responsible for its occupation and actions.

He said that the AHLC donor meeting which will take place next month must come up with concrete and real results on the ground in order to restore hope to the Palestinian people and confirm that the international community stands by Palestine.

Shtayyeh also briefed the Deputy Chief of the International Monetary Fund on the process of implementing the reform agenda and administrative reform, stressing the availability of the requisite political will to implement them.

T.R.