The Palestinian Authority says it might disband its Public Service if Israel continues with its plan to annex part of the West Bank on 1 July.
Senior Palestinian official, Hussein al-Sheikh told the New York Times that the Government in Ramallah would not continue to provide services if the planned annexation went ahead.
Mr al-Sheikh said the authority would also withhold the $US105 million ($A151 million) it sends to the Gaza Strip each month, much of which is also used to pay the salaries of public sector employees.
“Either they backtrack on annexation and things go back to how they were, or they follow through with annexation and they go back to being the occupying power in the whole West Bank,” Mr al-Sheikh said.
“In that case I will not accept my role is a service provider,” he said.
“I’m not a municipality or a charity.”
Mr al-Sheikh said the Palestinian Authority had already begun curbing its cooperation with Israel, which included facilitation of permits for Palestinians to receive medical treatment at Israel’s better equipped facilities or to enter Israel for other reasons.
While annexation may be the source of the current crisis, the Authority has another reason to curb its spending on public services — a deepening fiscal crisis that may have left it unable to pay its employees.
Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh said the Ministry of Finance had not determined whether there was enough money to continue dispensing Government salaries.
“Whether Government salaries will be paid out depends entirely on our financial capabilities…If we can, we will pay them. If not, we will have to wait,” Mr Shtayyeh said.
Many West Bank Palestinians work in the public sector with Government salaries accounting for approximately 15-to-20 per cent of the Authority’s GDP.
Ramallah, 12 June 2020
