The Times of Israel reported that Israel agreed to 3 minor economic measures for the Palestinians ahead of Ramadan at the end of March.
An Israeli diplomat told the newspaper that Israel’s security cabinet had authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Secretary Yoav Gallan to take economic measures for the Palestinians following talks with the administration of US President Joe Biden.
He explained that the first measure would be to “regulate” the fees at the Allenby border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, as Palestinians use it to travel abroad, given that they are prohibited from using Ben Gurion Airport and not allowed to build their homes. own airport.
In response to a question about what is meant by the word “organization”, the diplomat refused to go into details.
The second step, approved by the security cabinet, was to reduce the value-added tax that Israel charges the Palestinian Authority for the fuel it transports to Ramallah.
The Security Cabinet also agreed to update the list of goods allowed to be imported into Palestine, compiled by the Ministry of Economy.
Successive US administrations are pressing Israel to do more to improve the lives of the Palestinians, given that the absence of a sovereign Palestinian entity makes Ramallah’s economy heavily dependent on Israel.
During their recent visit, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urged Israeli officials to take steps to reduce tensions, especially ahead of the month of Ramadan.
Source: The Times of Israel.