Arab League pledges $100m to Palestine

The Arab League has pledged to pay $100 million a month to the Palestinian National Authority to plug the resulting gaps since Israel has blocked tax transfers earlier in the year. The Arab League has taken the measure to ensure Palestine can be isolated from the political and financial pressure it faces.

Why did Israel freeze tax transfers to Palestine?

In February 2019, Israel decided to put into effect on Sunday a law passed by the Israeli Parliament in July 2018 calling to freeze funds transferred to the Palestinian Authority.
Israel had accused Palestine of transferring the money provided by Israel to terrorists who were detained in Israel as well as to their families and to released prisoners.
But Palestine sees the transfer as a kind of welfare system for families who have lost a breadwinner. Israel which collects taxes on behalf of the Palestine Authority says that the terror salaries are encouraging further violence.

Arab League

Arab League is a regional organization of Arab states in and around North Africa, the Horn of Africa and Arabia. The league aims to “draw closer the relations between member States and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries”.
At present, the League has 22 members but Syria’s participation has been suspended since November 2011, as a consequence of government repression during the Syrian Civil War.

Month: Current Affairs - April, 2019