RAMALLAH: Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said on Tuesday that Israel is still withholding all the clearance fund, and until this moment it has not transferred any amounts to the Palestinian Authority (PA), stressing that such thing has not happened over the past 30 years.
The Prime Minister explained in his speech at the beginning of the Cabinet meeting in Ramallah that it was agreed that Israel would transfer the value of the amounts transferred by the Palestinian government to the Gaza Strip, to be sent to a special account in Norway, and stipulated that no amounts of these funds would be sent to the PA, noitng that Israel has not transferred any of these amounts yet.
Shtayyeh added that ‘this arrangement does not give us our full right to our money, and therefore this matter does not solve the financial crisis for us, but it removes the money, amounting to about NIS800 million from Israel to be deposited in a special account in Norway, and the remaining money will be transferred to us.’
The Prime Mini
ster renewed his call to the international community to prevent the Israeli invasion of Rafah, stop the aggression against the Gaza Strip, and allow civilians to return to their homes in the north and center of the Strip.
‘The 137th day of the war feels like the war is starting all over again. Today, the Nasser Medical Complex is being besieged, which exposes the lives of the sick, the wounded, and the medical teams to great danger. The complex is without water, electricity, or oxygen. There have been more than 107 martyrs in the past 24 hours and about 150 wounded, which raises the number of martyrs. The number of martyrs reached approximately 30,000, and the number of wounded reached approximately 70,000, in addition to 9,000 missing people,’ he said.
Shtayyeh added that ‘we spoke with everyone we met about this, and about a comprehensive and complete cessation of the aggression as well. We hope that the United Nations will continue its efforts to stop the killing and aggression against our people, and to
expand the volume and scope of aid to include all parts of the Gaza Strip.’
The Prime Minister condemned the ongoing Israeli killing and violations in the West Bank, and the ongoing siege of the cities of Nablus and Tulkarm and the prevention of movement inside and outside them.
Shtayyeh touched on his participation in the African Union Summit, on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas, and said: ‘We were received on the highest African platform in the name of Palestine, and we were met with a great welcome, and I sensed the great amount of support for Palestine in Africa, and therefore I extend my thanks to the African Union and all its countries, members and commissioners.’
Regarding the public hearings of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Prime Minister said: ‘Yesterday, the court began hearing arguments from 56 countries on the question referred to it by the General Assembly, related to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. The court must provide an advisory opinion upon completion
of deliberations to the United Nations General Assembly, and we will pursue this issue through all international institutions to strip all legitimacy from the occupation to end it.’
Source: Palestine news and Information Agency – WAFA