RAMALLAH, Palestine, April 30 (NNN-MA’AN) – Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammed Ishtaye, is in Brussels for a meeting of donor countries, over the worsening financial situation in Palestine.
The meeting is organised by the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), a 15-member group that serves as a coordination mechanism for assistance to the Palestinian people.
Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki, told the official radio station, Voice of Palestine, that Ishtaye will urge the donor countries to take measures, to force Israel to give all Palestinian tax revenues.
According to Abdul Rahim Farra, Palestinian ambassador to Brussels, the official AHLC meeting, headed by Norway, will start on Tuesday (today), in the presence of Federica Mogherini, EU foreign policy chief.
Earlier in the day, the Palestinian Authority said, it had returned all tax transfers to Israel, as it refuses partial payment of the taxes Israel collects on behalf of the authority.
Israel decided in Feb, to deduct these tax revenues, saying, the deducted money was paid to families of Palestinians who carried out “terrorist acts” against Israel.
The Palestinian Authority is facing the risk of an increasing budget deficit because of Israeli pressures and U.S. aid cuts.– NNN-MA’AN
