ROME, Saturday, May 25, 2024 (WAFA) — Finance leaders from the G7 nations have urged Israel to maintain correspondent banking connections between Palestinian and Israeli banks to facilitate crucial transactions, trade, and services.

A joint statement issued following a meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in northern Italy, the statement also emphasized the need for Israel to release withheld clearance revenues to the Palestinian Authority, citing its urgent fiscal requirements.

This call mirrors a recent warning from United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who highlighted the ramifications of failing to renew an expiring banking waiver, describing it as cutting off a vital lifeline for the Palestinian territory, particularly amid the ongoing Israeli onslaught on Gaza.

The statement emphasizes, "We call on Israel to take the necessary measures to ensure that correspondent banking services between Israeli and Palestinian banks remain in place, so that vital financial transactions and critical trade and services continue."

Additionally, the G7 finance leaders advocate for the removal or relaxation of other restrictive Israeli measures that have negatively impacted commerce, aiming to prevent further deterioration of the economic situation in the West Bank.

Ultranationalist Israeli Finance Minister Belazel Smotrich has hinted at Israel's reluctance to renew the waiver, scheduled to expire on July 1. Smotrich's stance is in response to the Palestinian government's pursuit of international recognition for statehood and its efforts to secure international arrest warrants against Israelis involved in the genocide in Gaza.

Should the waiver be terminated, Israeli businesses would face obstacles in receiving funds from Palestinian banks or depositing Palestinian checks, thus significantly impacting business ties between the two sides.

M.N