RAMALLAH, Saturday, October 05, 2019, (WAFA) – Hussein Al-Sheikh, chairman of the General Authority for Civil Affairs and member of Fatah Central Committee, said today that the joint Palestinian-Israeli technical committees will start meetings tomorrow and will discuss all the files including changing the mechanisms for the payment of funds and demand the return of the Palestinian financial rights.

"Since the year 2000, the government of Israel has been conducting illegal deductions from the funds of our people. For the first time since then, the joint technical committees will start meeting tomorrow to discuss all the files, change the mechanisms and demand the return of all our financial rights," he said in a statement.

Al-Sheikh said yesterday that he met on Thursday with the Israeli Minister of Finance during which they discussed “all outstanding issues.”

The two sides, he added, “have reached an agreement to activate (the) joint committees to examine all issues which will commence their duties next Sunday.”

The agreement was also on transferring a payment from the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) financial dues, he said, explaining that “dispute remains over the salaries of the families of prisoners and martyrs. We are determined to pay their dues at all costs.”

Israel started in February deducting millions of US dollars from the PA’s monthly clearance funds it claimed amount to the money allocated to families of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel or those killed by Israeli forces. As a result, the PA refused to accept the remaining amount causing it serious financial difficulties.

Israel is expected to transfer tomorrow to the PA’s treasury more than $500 million from the funds withheld since February, not including the deducted amounts.

M.K.