Israel and the Palestinian Authority have agreed that the PA will pay 300 million shekel ($85 million) to cover its debt to the Israeli electric company, Reshet Bet radio reported Wednesday morning.
According to the understandings that have been reached, the money will be deducted from the PA’s tax revenues which are collected by Israel on its behalf, and t the same time, the parties will work to formulate an orderly electricity purchase contract between the authority and the electric company.
In the meantime, the authority continues to refuse to accept the taxes Israel collects for it, because Israel continues to offset the salaries of terrorists in security prisons.
Two weeks ago, a senior PA confirmed in a newspaper interview that Israel and the PA are on the cusp of an agreement that would allow the Palestinian Authority to directly collect fuel taxes, to the tune of 200 million shekel ($57 million) every month, Instead of Israel.
The goal is to skip the conflict over terrorist wages and to relieve the economic crisis that the PA is experiencing. The PA’s monthly budget deficit is 600 million shekel ($171 million) every month, totaling 3 billion shekel ($860 million) so far.