Palestinian official calls for stopping trading in Israeli currency in Palestinian territories

RAMALLAH, Feb. 6 — A senior Palestinian official called on Monday for stopping using Israeli currency in the market in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Mohammad Ishtaye, senior member of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party, urged the government to replace the Israeli currency with other currencies, including digital currency, in the Palestinian territories, according to a press release of his office. Ishtaye, who also heads the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR), said that the lack of a Palestine currency is causing “continuous losses for the Palestinian economy and deepens its dependency on Israeli economy.”The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee convened last Saturday and decided to form a higher committee to implement the resolutions of the Palestinian Central Council (PCC), including cutting ties with Israel completely and terminating the economic Paris protocol signed between the PLO and Israel in 1994.

The PLO committee ordered the government to begin to study the implications and mechanisms of how to sever ties with Israel on all levels and report its recommendation to the political leadership.”The Palestinian people and its institutions are capable of implementing the PCC decisions towards ending the colonial economic relation with the occupying power gradually,” said Ishtaye. He added that this may be achieved through a series of actions, including supporting the national products and widening the domestic production bases, in particular in agriculture and industry.

The senior Abbas aide said it is essential to reconsider the tax policy “in accordance with the Palestinian people’s living conditions, especially the value-added tax (VAT).”He stressed that the agreement must be suspended because Israel “killed it and has evaded from most of its articles, and has violates the right of transfer of individuals and goods through the checkpoints, blockade and continued closures, in addition to the military measures that have impeded the growth of the Palestinian economy.” – XINHUA