Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah at the inauguration of a new courthouse. (WAFA Images) 

HEBRON, Wednesday, February 27, 2019 (WAFA) – Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah confirmed today that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has returned the clearance revenues to Israel after deducting 41 million shekels from them.

He told Palestine TV during the inauguration of a new courthouse in Dora in the south of the West Bank that since the Palestinian leadership has decided in its meeting on February 20 not to accept the tax revenues Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinians if they were short by one penny, it was decided to return this month’s clearance money Israel has transferred to the Palestinian Authority, which was 41.8 million shekels ($11.5 million).

Israel decided to deduct from the PA revenues the amount of allowances the Palestinian government pays to families of Palestinians held in prison or killed in the resistance. It said the money amounts to $138 million every year.

Hamdallah said paying allowances to the families is a national duty.

The clearance revenues usually cover 70% of the salaries for public employees, which mean the PA may not be able to pay this month’s salaries to over 180,000 employees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

M.K.