BANGKOK, October 15, 2026 (WAFA) – The Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) Governor Yahya Shunnar on Thursday discussed with British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband the possible formation of an international coalition to protect the Palestinian banking sector and address the restrictions imposed on it.
The discussion took place during a meeting held on the sidelines of the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group in Bangkok, Thailand.
Governor Shunnar explained that the initiative aims to ensure the continuation of Correspondent Banking Relations (CBRs) between Palestinian and Israeli banks until a comprehensive review of the existing arrangements is completed, based on the 1994 Paris Protocol on Economic Relations, paving the way for a lasting solution that guarantees the continuity of these relations.
Shunnar underscored the UK's political and diplomatic role in mobilizing international support to protect the Palestinian banking sector. He stressed the need to develop practical mechanisms that provide clear guarantees for the continuation of CBRs, rather than relying solely on temporary measures and non-binding commitments that do not provide sufficient assurances of their continuity.
He stressed the importance of launching a process of follow-up and coordination with the Bank of England and the UK Treasury to develop practical mechanisms that protect correspondent banking channels and ease the restrictions facing the Palestinian banking sector.
Shunnar called for coordinated international efforts to explore solutions tailored to the banking sector, including examining the role of development finance institutions in supporting the continuity of CBRs and ensuring that Palestinian banks remain able to conduct transactions and maintain their links with the global financial system.
He explained that CBRs constitute the main channel for settling transactions in Israeli shekels, which are essential for financing imports of basic commodities, including food, medicine and fuel. He warned that severing these relations, in the absence of a reliable and viable alternative channel, would disrupt a key component of foreign trade and threaten the flow of goods into Palestinian markets.
Shunnar also stressed the need to call on the Bank of Israel to raise the ceiling for the return of excess shekel cash held by Palestinian banks to a level commensurate with the volume of economic activity and the needs of the Palestinian market. This would help banks manage liquidity efficiently and limit the accumulation of excess cash in their holdings.
He also stressed the importance of restoring the banking sector in the Gaza Strip to full operational capacity and enabling it to resume the effective provision of banking services. This would strengthen its ability to support economic recovery and reconstruction efforts in the Strip and facilitate financial transactions related to relief efforts. He affirmed that Gaza's banking sector is an integral part of the unified Palestinian banking system.
The meeting also addressed the withholding of Palestinian clearance revenues. Shunnar called for their release, warning that their continued withholding exacerbates the financial crisis facing the Palestinian government and undermines its ability to meet its obligations and finance essential services, adversely affecting living and humanitarian conditions and increasing the burdens on Palestinian families.
The PMA Governor stressed that international positions regarding the Palestinian banking sector's compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards must be based on recognized technical assessments and objective evidence.
He called on the UK to publicly reaffirm its position, based on its previous assessments, regarding the extent to which the Palestinian Framework for Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing complies with relevant international standards.
K.F.
