Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The financial crisis of the Palestinian National Authority threatens the security of Israel. To avoid a collapse of the PNA, the Israeli government yesterday released 100 million dollars in tax revenues of the Palestinian Authority, frozen since November 2012 after the UN entry of the NPA as non-member State.
The thawed money is only half of the property taxes due to Palestine "stored" in Israeli coffers, which according to the Oslo Accords manages the collection of taxes in the West Bank. The total would be about 200 million. The funds will be used to pay the ANP debt towards Israel Eletrict Corporation, an Israeli company responsible for the supply of electricity to the West Bank. A source in the office of Prime Minister Netanyahu said that the release of more funds will be reviewed at the end of February.
Due to the freezing of taxes administered by Israel and the decrease in funds from Western countries and Arab states, for several months the NPA has been in a critical financial situation. The government is struggling to pay the salaries of administrative staff and security personnel.