RAMALLAH, Tuesday, March 12, 2019 (WAFA) - The Palestinian Cabinet held in Ramallah today what could be its last meeting before a new government takes over headed by Prime Minister-Designate Mohammed Shtayeh, whose appointment by President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday was hailed by the outgoing cabinet.

The cabinet welcomed the prime minister-designate in a statement issued following its weekly meeting, “wishing him and the members of the new government success in fulfilling their assigned tasks especially in light of the challenging political, economic, and financial conditions facing the Palestinian cause and the national project.”

Outgoing Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah also thanked the members of his government “for their efforts during exceptional circumstances resulting from the continuation of the Israeli occupation and its daily attempts to break the citizens‘ resilience and to undermine the government ability to execute its own policies, especially in Areas C,” said the statement.

Area C amounts to over 60 percent of the area of the occupied West Bank that remains under full Israeli military rule. Israel prevents Palestinians from developing Area C.

The cabinet also discussed the 2019 budget, which has only 20 days for approval before its legal period ends.

However, according to Minister of Finance and Planning Shukri Bishara, “the financial crisis that we face due to the Israeli unilateral deductions of Palestinian tax funds and the decision of the Palestinian leadership to refuse to receive any money from the tax funds if deducted, led us, upon the directions of President Abbas, to adopt an emergency budget that includes restricted austerity measures until the current crisis ends."

Following is a video of the cabinet statement as narrated by its spokesman Ahmad Shami.

M.K.