Israel deducts $694m from Palestinian tax revenue: Ministry
Since Israel’s war on Gaza started in October last year, Israeli authorities have deducted nearly $694m from the tax revenues allocated for Gaza, according to the Palestinian Finance Ministry.
Under interim bilateral peace agreements signed in the early 1990s, Israel collects taxes and customs on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and transfers them to the latter on a monthly basis.
Although Gaza is run by the group Hamas, the PA continues to fund essential areas of the blockaded enclave’s budget, including paying the salaries of health workers.
In a statement carried by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the finance ministry said: “These deductions are part of Israel’s strategy to pressure the PA to stop paying salaries to employees and pensions to retirees in Gaza.”
“These financial measures are part of Israel’s broader pressure campaign against the PA, impacting its ability to meet its financial obligations to its citizens, particularly in these challenging times.”
Manhunt under way after alleged attack on West Bank settler
The Israeli military has said that its forces are searching for a Palestinian man who allegedly attacked an Israeli settler near the illegal Kedumim settlement in the northern occupied West Bank.
An initial report by the military said the man attacked a settler using a hammer, and then stole his weapon, east of Qalqilya in the West Bank, before fleeing the scene.
Israeli forces, assisted by a helicopter, are searching the area for the alleged perpetrator, the military said.
Israeli dies from wounds sustained in occupied West Bank attack, hospital says
Earlier, we reported that the Israeli military said its forces were searching for a Palestinian man who allegedly attacked an Israeli settler near the illegal Kedumim settlement in the northern West Bank.
In a statement, the Beilinson Hospital said that despite several attempts to save the person’s life, “doctors had to declare the death of a man who was fatally wounded in an attack in Samaria”.
The military said earlier the man was attacked by a Palestinian who stole his weapon. No group had so far claimed responsibility.
Smotrich vows to have more Palestinian homes destroyed: Aid group
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has visited the outskirts of Bethlehem, pledging to bring an unprecedented wave of demolitions upon Palestinian homes, livelihoods and donor-funded humanitarian aid, an adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council has said.
Smotrich, also an adjunct minister in the Defense Ministry in charge of settlement affairs, made this trip just days after authorities approved a new illegal settlement on a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.
NRC’s adviser, Itay Epshtain, said the timing is also significant because it comes at a time when mediators are working to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.
Such lawful countermeasures to wanton demolitions could include the immediate sanctioning of Minister #Smotrich (e.g., a travel ban preventing him from traveling to authoring States) and the enforcement of claims for monetary compensation for seized or destroyed humanitarian… pic.twitter.com/ZdIdcawhyr
— Itay Epshtain (@EpshtainItay) August 18, 2024
