From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Saudi Arabia, Palestinians agree to form joint business council
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleRIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians agree to establish a joint economic committee and a business council, as the Palestinian Authority faces a financing gap that could top $1.8 billion.
Mahmoud Abbas’s PA has been in deep financial crisis since February when Israel decided to deduct around $10 million a month from the $190 million in tax and customs revenues it collects on behalf of the PA — to offset the sum the PA pays Palestinian terrorists and security prisoners in Israeli jails and their families — prompting the Palestinians to refuse to take any of the funds at all.
His administration then had to impose austerity measures, cutting almost half the salaries of PA employees.
Abbas, who arrived in Riyadh yesterday, met with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
It adds that the leaders reached “an agreement on the establishment of a joint economic committee and on a Saudi-Palestinian business council.”
The report doesn’t elaborate further.
The announcement came days after Saudi Arabia’s soccer team played Palestine in the West Bank for the first time on Tuesday, with the Saudi side having previously refused to enter the territory as part of its boycott of Israel.
Israel collects the around $190 million a month in customs duties levied on goods destined for Palestinian markets that transit through its ports, and then transfers the money to the PA.
In February, Israel decided to deduct around $10 million a month from the revenues — the sum the PA pays Palestinian terrorists in Israeli jails or their families — prompting the Palestinians to refuse to take any funds at all.
— with AFP
The Times of Israel Community.