Informed sources revealed that the American administration is studying a request to Israel to transfer a portion of the withheld Palestinian tax revenues to the 'Peace Council' established by President Donald Trump. This step aims to provide the necessary funding for the implementation of Washington's post-war plan in the Gaza Strip, which faces significant financial and political challenges.
Reports indicated that the Trump administration has not yet made a final decision regarding submitting a formal request to the Israeli side in this regard, but discussions are still ongoing behind the scenes. The proposed suggestions include dividing the funds between an American-backed transitional government in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, provided that the latter implements a comprehensive package of reforms.
Palestinian Authority estimates indicate that the total funds withheld by Israel from tax revenues (clearance) have reached approximately $5 billion. The continued withholding of these funds exacerbates the financial crisis in the West Bank, threatening the Authority's ability to meet its obligations to employees and public services.
In a related context, observers warned that redirecting these funds towards Trump's reconstruction plan could lead to the complete marginalization of the Palestinian Authority's role. These developments come at a time when the cost of the reconstruction plan is estimated at about $70 billion, an amount that the Peace Council seeks to secure from various resources.
On the ground and political level, leaders of Palestinian factions revealed arrangements for holding an expanded meeting in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, next Tuesday. The meeting aims to discuss the fate of negotiations related to the transition to the second phase of the American peace plan, amidst ongoing Israeli military operations.
Leading sources confirmed that negotiations are still clashing with Israel's condition, and the representative of the Gaza Strip in the Peace Council, Nikolai Mladenov, to disarm the resistance as a fundamental condition for moving forward. The factions believe that this condition represents a major obstacle to any real progress, especially with the mediators' failure to compel Israel to fulfill the requirements of the first phase.
For its part, the Hamas negotiating delegation stressed that the issue of weapons is not negotiable or exchangeable under any circumstances. The movement informed the mediators in Cairo that surrendering weapons means ending the resistance project, which no Palestinian leader can accept or sign, no matter how great the pressures.
While the Peace Council officially declined to comment on the news of using tax funds, officials within it emphasized the need to mobilize all available resources to support the reconstruction plan. The plan relies primarily on creating a new security and political environment in the Strip that ensures no return to a comprehensive military confrontation.
It is worth noting that Israel collects taxes on goods imported for Palestinians under old economic agreements, but it uses these funds as a political pressure card. Depriving the Palestinian treasury of these cash flows is the backbone of the current economic crisis affecting all aspects of life in the occupied territories.
No leader, regardless of their name or influence, will dare to make a decision to surrender weapons and disarm the resistance, as this officially represents the downfall of the national project.
שתף את דעתך
Washington Considers Directing Palestinian Tax Funds to Finance 'Peace Council' and Trump's Gaza Reconstruction Plan