https://thecradle.co/articles/us-treasury-head-claims-israel-to-unfreeze-pa-funds
US treasury head claims Israel to unfreeze PA funds
US President Joe Biden said earlier that he hopes to reach a ceasefire by next Monday
The US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, said on 27 February that Israel has agreed to resume the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority (PA) to fund its basic services and bolster the West Bank's economy.
“The United States has urged the Israeli government to release clearance revenue to the Palestinian Authority to fund basic services and to bolster the economy in the West Bank,” Yellen said at a press conference ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meetings in Brazil. “I welcome news that an agreement has been reached and funds have started to flow.”
Yellen added that “this must continue” and that she had reached out to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a letter outlining several steps that the US believes must be taken, including reinstating work permits for Palestinians, and reducing barriers and commerce inside the West Bank, noting that “these actions are vital for the economic well-being of Palestinians and Israelis alike.”
“We support the World Bank’s commitments to emergency food security assistance in Gaza and economic support for the West Bank, and the ongoing MDB and IMF programs in Egypt and Jordan,” The US secretary added.
Palestinian officials have previously noted that their ability to govern has been virtually blocked by Israeli restrictions, including the withholding of tax revenues overdue 30 years since the Oslo Accords.
Last week, Norway agreed to give far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich control over when a quarter of the funds will be released from Oslo to the West Bank.
Israel’s cabinet refused to transfer the funds to the PA over fears they could make their way from the ruling Fatah party to the Palestinian resistance groups fighting against Israeli aggression.
Yellen’s announcement regarding the transfer of funds to the PA came after US President Joe Biden said he hopes a ceasefire could come into effect as early as next Monday.
“My national security adviser tells me that we’re close. We’re close. We’re not done yet,” Biden said between bites of ice cream. “Ramadan’s coming up, and there has been an agreement by the Israelis that they would not engage in activities during Ramadan as well in order to give us time to get all the hostages out.”
Israeli officials said following Biden’s comments that they were puzzled as to where “the American president’s optimism is based on.”
A source with Hamas told Al-Jazeera that “the atmosphere of optimism that an agreement … will soon be reached does not reflect the truth. Killing our people by starvation in the north is a genocidal crime that threatens the entire negotiation process.”