Israel considers proposal to transfer tax funds to the Palestinians

The Israeli government is considering a proposal to transfer clearance funds to the Palestinian Authority through a third party.

The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" reported. 

According to the newspaper, the proposal, presented by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, requires that responsibility for disbursing tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority be handed over to the United States or Norway.

Smotrich opposes transferring Palestinian tax funds to the Palestinian Authority. Last January, he told the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, Kan that he appreciated "the support of the United States and President Joe Biden very much".

Israeli officials recently stated that Tel Aviv would not allow the Palestinian Authority to transfer funds allocated for services and salaries in the Gaza Strip, claiming that the money could reach Hamas at a time when Israeli forces are waging a war on the Strip.

This crisis erupted when the Minister of Finance in Benjamin Netanyahu's government decided to deduct the funds allocated to the Gaza Strip from Palestinian tax revenues before sending them to the Authority.

The Authority, for its part, refused to receive these funds and returned them to Israel. This happened at the beginning of November and then at the beginning of December.