US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and State Department Secretary Antony Blinken called on the Israeli government to extend by one year permission for Israeli financial institutions to work with Palestinian banks in the West Bank to process vital payments.
A waiver signed by Israel’s Finance Minister to protect Israeli banks from being prosecuted by the Palestinian Authority for “transferring funds to terrorist groups” expired on October 31. The UN expects that without such protection, Israeli banks will be subject to prosecution and sever ties with Palestinian banks. Israel said the permit would only be granted for one month, until the end of November 2024.
“Breaking these banking ties would cause significant economic disruption in the West Bank, threatening the security of Israel and the broader region. Our deep concerns are shared by the G7 and many of our closest partners. To date, the US government’s sustained engagement with the public and private sectors in Israel and the West Bank gives us confidence that Palestinian banks are adequately managing terrorist financing risks. The United States Government urges the Government of Israel to promptly extend compensation for these important banking relationships for at least one year. “We also ask that future renovations be transparent, predictable and depoliticized.” Yellen and Blinken said in a joint statement.
Previously, France, Germany and Britain asked Israel to extend the possibility of conducting financial transactions with Palestinian banks for at least one year, according to a joint statement by the Eurotroika countries.
Palestinian financial institutions are required to interact with the State Bank of Israel and other Israeli banks, as cash transactions in the West Bank are formally conducted in shekels. To do this, they need to obtain permission from the Israeli government, which, after the escalation, began granting these permits for a short period of time, mainly under the pretext of insufficient verification by Palestinian banks of terrorist financing threats. , reminds RIA. Novosti.
