Xinhua
December 18, 2012 - 1:00am
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-12/18/c_124114389.htm


 

The Palestinian government on Tuesday called for an urgent Arab summit to secure its cash supplies after Israel withheld Palestinian tax revenues.

In a statement following its weekly meeting, the government said Israel works on undermining the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

The statement said the Arab financial contributions would save the PNA from collapsing and allow it to meet its fiscal obligations.

The PNA has been unable to pay salaries for its 150,000 employees because Israel stopped transferring the tax revenues it collects from Palestinian imports and exports.

The Arab League in March approved a mechanism to pay 100 million U.S. dollars a month to the PNA, but it has not started applying it. The Palestinian government, led by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, called on the AL to increase the sum to 250 million dollars to offset the lack of tax revenues.

Israel withheld the money in response to upgrading the Palestinian status in the United Nations to a non-member observer state with a vote of 138-9 last month.




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