US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and seven of her global counterparts have reportedly warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against allowing far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to let a banking deal expire that could torpedo the already fragile Palestinian Authority economy.
According to a report in Axios, Yellen — along with the treasury chiefs of Japan, Canada, the EU, the UK, the Netherlands, Australia and France — sent a letter to Netanyahu seeking to ensure that Smotrich extends a key banking deal that will allow Israeli and Palestinian banks to continue conducting transactions.
As the October 31 deadline approaches, the US has grown increasingly worried that Smotrich won’t agree to extend it further as he has issued a list of demands for PA banks to adhere to.
The letter reportedly expresses the treasury chiefs’ “fear that actions taken by some members of your government to deny the West Bank access to financial resources endangers Israel’s security and threatens to further destabilize the entire region in an already perilous moment.”
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Sunday, October 27, 2024
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