Israel's defence and finance ministers clash over Palestinian tax payout

As the Israel-Palestine war entered Day 27, Israel’s defence and finance ministers engaged in a clash of words over whether some West Bank tax revenues should be transferred to the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has called for tax revenues, collected by Israel on behalf of Palestinians in some parts of the West Bank that come under its direct control, to be disbursed without delay.

“The State of Israel is interested in maintaining stability in Judea and Samaria, always and especially during these times,” Gallant said in televised remarks.

“The funds should be transferred immediately so that these may be used by the operational mechanism of the Palestinian Authority and by the sectors of the Palestinian Authority that are dealing with the prevention of terrorism,” he added.

Israel’s finance ministry is authorised to collect taxes on behalf of the Palestinians and makes monthly transfers to the Palestinian Authority, under interim peace accords.

On the other hand, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose hardline religious nationalist party has strong support among Jewish settlers in the West Bank responded that Gallant was making a “serious mistake” in demanding the release of the funds.

He has already opposed the view that the funds should not be transferred and should instead be used to pay for public sector salaries and other government expenditures, accusing Palestinians in the West Bank of supporting the deadly Hamas attack on Israel.

“I do not intend to let the State of Israel finance our enemies in Judea and Samaria who support the terrorism of Hamas and finance the 7/10 terrorists who murdered and massacred us,” he said in a statement.

With inputs from Reuters