RAMALLAH, Tuesday, May 28, 2019 (WAFA) – The Ministry of Finance announced that the government will be paying only 60% of the monthly payroll of the civil servants for the month of May 2019 following Israel’s decision to deduct 502 million shekels ($138) a year from the Palestinian tax revenues.

The Ministry said in a statement that it will disburse 60 percent of the basic salaries of civil servants, military personnel and retirees in the West Bank and Gaza with a minimum of 2000 shekels ($554) in addition to fixed transportation allowance for all civil servants.

Although the government had paid the basic salaries of public servants for April with a maximum of 10,000 shekels ($2,770), it did not set a maximum amount of disbursement for May salaries.

The Ministry also announced that it will continue to pay the allowances for the families of Palestinians killed and wounded as a result of confrontations with Israel in addition to former prisoners.

The government had also only paid 60% of the salaries of the public servants for the month of April, while it had only paid 50% of the salaries in February and March.

President Mahmoud Abbas has affirmed time and again that he will not accept any tax revenues that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority as long as Israel continues to deduct the stipends allocated for Palestinian prisoners and their families.

K.T./ K.F.