The authority demanded, Monday, the occupation government to release the withheld tax funds to support Palestinian efforts in the face of the threat of the spread of the Corona virus emerging (Covid 19).
According to the official news agency (WFA), the Minister of Finance, Shukri Bishara, met today with his Israeli counterpart Moshe Kahlon, and demanded that "the release of all the sums withheld by the Israeli side since the past year be considered as an absolute necessity under the current circumstances."
According to the agency, the two sides discussed during the meeting "the economic data that the two sides face in light of the outbreak of the Corona virus," adding that Bishara affirmed that the seized amounts "are a right for the Palestinian people, and will contribute to helping the treasury adopt the best health measures to meet this challenge."
Since the beginning of last year, the occupation began withholding parts of the tax money it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, in protest against the payment of monthly salaries to the families of the Palestinian prisoners and dead.
This comes as Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh announced the registration of a new infection with the emerging coronavirus in Tulkarm, for a young man coming from Poland.
Shtayyeh told reporters at the start of his government´s weekly meeting in Ramallah that the total number of people infected with the virus increased in the West Bank to 39 cases, while 15 of them began to recover.
