Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh today described Israel’s killing of five Palestinians in Jericho earlier today as a major crime and a blatant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, calling on the international community to immediately bring a stop to these crimes.
Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting held in Ramallah, Shtayyeh also denounced Israel’s deductions from the Palestinian tax revenues, describing it as “piracy,” specifically mentioning an additional monthly deduction of $15 million to raise the monthly deduction to $30 million, equivalent to the amount Israel claims the Palestinian Authority pays in allowances to prisoners and families of Palestinians killed by Israel.
“This amounts to $350 million annually, which exceeds the annual budget deficit, and it deepens our financial crisis,” he said, explaining that the total deductions from the Palestinian clearance funds for this month amounted to $80 million.
The Prime Minister expressed hope that the many visits by US officials to the region will result in curbing Israel’s political, security, religious and financial measures against the Palestinians.
Source: Palestine News & Info Agency