JERUSALEM: Israel’s cabinet has given approval for a plan that redirects frozen tax funds, designated for the Gaza Strip, to be held by Norway instead of being transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA), officials announced on Sunday.
According to interim peace accords from the 1990s, Israel’s finance ministry collects taxes on behalf of the Palestinians and transfers the funds monthly to the Palestinian Authority, which exercises rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. However, disputes have persistently arisen, with Israel insisting that the funds do not reach Hamas.
The recent decision comes amid heightened tensions, with Israel currently engaged in aggressive military operations in Gaza, killing more than 25,105 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since October 7.
Israel Bypasses Palestinian Authority
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the cabinet’s decision regarding the tax funds had the support of Norway and the United States, acting as guarantors for the new framework. Netanyahu’s office clarified that the funds, or any equivalent, will not be transferred “in any situation, except with the approval of the Israeli finance minister, and also not through a third party.”
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) expressed its rejection of the conditions imposed by Israel on the funds. Hussein Al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the executive committee of the PLO, stated on social media, “Any deductions from our financial rights or any conditions imposed by Israel that prevent the PA from paying our people in the Gaza Strip are rejected by us.”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s spokesperson confirmed that Norway would now hold the funds, with Smotrich asserting, “Not one shekel will go to Gaza.” Smotrich has long opposed transferring funds to the PA.
