Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh confirmed today, Tuesday, that the Palestinian economic growth last year was 3.9%, and that this year will witness a slower pace, due to the escalating Israeli measures.

Shtayyeh said at the beginning of the government session in Ramallah, "The unemployment rate has decreased from 19% since we took over the government to about 12% in the West Bank, but it remained high in the Gaza Strip."

He added, "The local and clearing revenues increased by 19% with the stability of public spending, but the salary bill increased."

Shtayyeh pointed out that the general budget suffers from a deficit, expressing his hope that the donors would help bridge the funding gap to address the deficit, noting that the Israeli discounts and the decline in donor funds are still the main reasons behind the deficit suffered by the general budget.

He stressed that the Palestinian delegation participating in a meeting of donor countries to Palestine, in Brussels tomorrow, Wednesday, will present a report on the situation in Palestine, the reform plan, and the Palestinian economy.

Shtayyeh said: "The government will continue to work on implementing the reform program approved by the Council of Ministers and under the guidance of President Mahmoud Abbas, and presented to donors, which is summarized in reforming the salary bill, medical referrals, and addressing debts incurred by the water and electricity sectors, municipal issues, and local government, And other matters related to the Civil Service Law and others.

In a separate context, the Council of Ministers held the Israeli occupation authorities, its prison administration and all its agencies fully responsible for the death of the prisoner Khader Adnan, after a battle of hunger strike that lasted for 87 days, refusing to arrest him.

He considered the murder of the martyr Adnan deliberate, by rejecting his request for his release, neglecting him medically, and keeping him in his cell, despite the seriousness of his health condition.

He offered his deepest condolences to the families of the martyr Adnan, the captive movement, and all of our people for this great loss, stressing that he will remain a symbol of steadfastness, defiance and determination, calling for the immediate release of all prisoners, especially the sick, women and children.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister addressed those celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Israel by saying, I would like to remind you that this anniversary is the anniversary of the Nakba of Palestine, and that Israel is a colonial and colonial entity, established by Western countries to serve their interests, and that it was established on the ruins of 531 Palestinian villages and towns that were demolished, and whose people were displaced. For 75 years they have been in camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Gaza, the West Bank and Egypt, hoping to return to their homes.

He added, "We remind them that Palestine is a fertile land, and that the Palestinian was the first to use the plow to cultivate the land, and that in 1860 Palestine exported about 2 million bags of Jaffa oranges to Europe, 88 years before the establishment of the State of Israel."

He pointed out that if some congratulate Israel on its success, the Israelis are the product of Western technology and science, and that any advantage it has is that it is a military base and a functional state for its celebrants.

We remind the celebrants that the conflict over Palestine and in Palestine is based on the zero-sum game, meaning that every dunam of land that Israel seizes is a dunam of land that Palestine loses, and every liter of water that Israel steals is a liter of water that we lose, and that Israel was built on our land, we are the people of the country, and we The indigenous people, we are the ones who gave this land its name, this land is ours, and it is a sacred land, the birthplace of our Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, and the resting place of our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

He added, "The world has presented a historic solution, which is the two-state solution, and we have accepted it. Here, I call on the name of President Mahmoud Abbas for the countries of the world that believe in this solution to protect it and stop the systematic destruction that Israel is carrying out against our land and sanctities, killing our children, imprisoning some of them, and fragmenting Our land, the intensification of settlements, the storming of sanctities and the attempt to Judaize them, all of this is to destroy the two-state solution.”

And he added, "To those celebrating the anniversary of the founding of Israel, Green Palestine has been and remains green for thousands of years, and its mountains are still covered with olives, and there is a desert that is still a desert. Those who believe lies must open their eyes to see the truth. Palestine is a truth, Jerusalem is a truth, and our Palestinian people are true." Truth, and the truth and its narrators will prevail over the myth and its narrators.

In another context, the Cabinet expressed its rejection of the so-called "Return Conference" in the Swedish city of Malmö, and considered it a circumvention of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, at a moment when pressures are escalating and challenges targeting the existence of our people on their land and the establishment of his state.

He called on those in charge of the conference not to go in the wrong direction, not to deviate the compass, to be of help to our people, and not to add a new burden on it as it tries to confront those who embrace the policies of burning, erasure, and abolition.

He also called on those who intend to participate in it to reconsider the matter, work towards achieving national unity, expose the policies and practices of the occupation, and work to mobilize the international effort to end the occupation of our land and establish its state.

During its session, the cabinet will discuss security and political reports, the Zakat Fund, legal aid for the poor, draft laws related to cultural heritage, dealing with foreign stock exchanges, infrastructure projects, solar energy, and cooperative work.