Ma'an – The Israeli daily Maariv wrote Wednesday that Quartet envoy James Wolfensohn says the Palestinian Authority will hit bankruptcy within two weeks.
He was speaking during a meeting with the Quartet specifically to discuss the financial situation in the PA. It seems that the PA is short at least 120 million USD because Israel refuses to transfer the money it owes in taxes. Diplomatic sources said that Israeli is responsible for this and consequently will carry the consequences.
Russia's representative suggested that the Israelis continue to transfer the taxes and if it was proved that the funds are ‘used in acts of terror,’ it could be stopped.
The Palestinian Authority's Minister of Economy, Dr. Mazen Sunokrot, says the coffers are not in fact dry.
He reported on Wednesday that the PA can pay employee salaries and condemned Palestinian media reports to the contrary. Sunokrot said that the PA will be able to pay February salaries for at least 145,000 employees.
Sunokrot added that there is a great deal of international pressure on Israel to continue paying the taxes it owes the PA, and said that this is not a new problem, this is an accumulative one which began a year ago due to obstacles in the way of the outside transfer of funds. He called for the international community to continue to support the PA.
Dr. Sunokrot told Ma'an, ‘We are waiting to see what will happen in the next few months, including what financial obstacles the Israelis will place in the way of the Palestinians.’
He pointed out that the financial crises has been ongoing for approximately a year due to the already low funding from donor countries and continuous Israeli attacks and closures which wreak havoc on the economy.
Elected Palestinian Legislative Council member and Hamas spokesperson in the Gaza Strip, Salah Al Bardewil, confirmed that the PA is totally responsible for the issue of employee salaries and the provision of funds.
The Deputy Minister of Finance in the PA, Gihad Al Wazir, reported Wednesday, ‘The Palestinian Authority is experiencing a financial crisis and its result is the threat of a volcanic eruption.’
Al Bardewil said that Al Wazir's speech that the PA is in financial crisis and has no money to pay employees is rife with incorrect information.
Al Bardewil told Ma'an, ‘If this financial crisis is supposed to be connected with Hamas, yet we have not even taken any charge of the PA, we have nothing to do with it. This crisis, if there is one, has no relation to Hamas winning the PLC elections and it is a fabricated case.’
Regarding criticisms that Hamas did not appoint a Christian deputy as PLC speaker negotiation Dr. Sa'eb Erekat pointed out, Bardawil responded, ‘We do not accept such statements that things can be changed. We have a Christian member on our list and we do care for our people, regardless of their religion.’ He was adamant when he spoke to Ma'an. He said, ‘Our conflict is only with the occupation.’