Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the transfer of some $63 million to the Palestinian Authority to help ease its economic crisis.
The transfer Sept. 11 is an advance on tax revenues collected for the P.A. by Israel.
“We are working on several fronts in order to help the Palestinian Authority cope with its economic problems,” Netanyahu said. “I hope that they will succeed in doing so; this is in our common interest.”
Palestinians have been staging demonstrations in the streets of the West Bank since last week to protest extreme economic hardship. The protests turned violent Sept. 10, with thousands of protesters burning tires and attacking police in Hebron and Nablus.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced measures Sept. 11 to ease the economic hardship, including lowering the value-added tax and prices on diesel, gas and kerosene.
Israeli officials are concerned that the unrest could turn into a third intifada directed at Israel, Reuters reported. — jta