Palestinian Authority urges international action over Israel’s withholding of $11 billion

The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday called for international action after Israel withheld around $11 billion in Palestinian funds, warning that the move poses a serious threat to the ability of Palestinian institutions to continue operating. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa made the remarks during a meeting in Ramallah with European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica, EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process Christophe Bigot, and the EU Representative to Palestine Alexandre Stutzmann. According to a statement from his office, Mustafa said that Israel is withholding around $6 billion in Palestinian tax revenues, known as “clearance revenues”, in addition to $5 billion in frozen banking funds. Clearance revenues are one of the Palestinian Authority’s main sources of income. […]