Israel is due to increase the number of permits it grants to Palestinians to work in Israel by 13%, in an effort to boost the flagging economy in the West Bank territory under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority.
The move comes in advance of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s upcoming trip to the United States to meet with US President Joe Biden and in the aftermath of last week’s conversation between Defense Minister Benny Gantz and PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
The gesture is expected to come before the government this Sunday for approval.
It’s one of a number of steps Israel plans to take to strengthen the economic ties between Israel and the PA, the Office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said on Wednesday.
Some 15,000 permits will now be given to Palestinians in the field of construction and another 1,000 for the hotel industry. They will augment the 120,000 permits granted for employment in Israel, of which 30,000 are for work in West Bank settlements.
Once the government approves the move, the number of permits granted to Palestinians to work in Israel or the settlements will stand at 136,000.
The work permit increase concludes a process of “long administrative work” and is “part of a comprehensive move to strengthen the economic ties between Israel and the PA,” said COGAT head Maj.-Gen. Rassan Alian.
This measure “will strengthen the Israeli and Palestinian economies, and will largely contribute to the security stability in the area of Judea and Samaria.
“Economic stability is the key to preserve the security in the region,” Alian said. On Wednesday, he informed senior PA officials of the proposal done in cooperation with the ministries of housing, finance, tourism and regional cooperation.
The Israeli security system will “complete its preparations to make sure the crossings in Judea and Samaria are ready for the increase of the Palestinian workers’ movement into Israel and back to Judea and Samaria,” COGAT said.
Earlier this month Israel also agreed to help the PA through an agreement with the Hashemite Kingdom, by which Israel increased the level of goods Jordan can export to the Palestinians from $160 million to $700m.
The Palestinian economy has been in dire straights due to the loss of US funding during the Trump administration and a PA-Israel dispute over PA funding to Palestinian terrorists and their families.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further weakened that economy.
The Biden administration has moved in stages to restore the over half-a-billion in annual funding it had given to the Palestinians prior to 2017, mostly through third parties such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. This year the US has pledged $313.8m. for UNRWA.
At the UN Security Council on Wednesday Deputy Middle East Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Lynn Hastings warned about the PA’s ever-increasing financial crisis.
“The budget gap is expected to be well over $1 billion for the current budget year and the Palestinian financial sector is exposed to serious liquidity risks,” she told the 15-member body in a speech she delivered virtually in Jerusalem to the meeting in New York.
In addition, she said, the Israeli Security Cabinet on July 11 froze NIS 600 million in tax fees it had collected on behalf of the PA. The money is equal to the sum the PA has paid over the “preceding year to security prisoners and detainees and to the families of Palestinians killed while carrying out attacks.”
Hastings called on the PA to halt such payments, which Israel has dubbed “pay for slay.”
“The PA must implement much needed reforms, including to the so-called prisoner payment system, and to strengthen the rule of law and accountability. Enhanced cooperation between Israel and the PA to address outstanding financial challenges on key fiscal and economic files will also be critical,” Hastings said.