RAMALLAH // Israel announced yesterday it would pay US$100 million (Dh367m) owed to the Palestinian Authority, billing it as a "one-time" response to a Palestinian economy struck by falling foreign aid and Israeli obstacles.
Israel stopped delivering the monthly tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinians shortly after they won an upgrade in status to non-member observer state at the United Nations in November. The retaliatory move has forced the PA to suspend or pay only partial salaries to its 150,000 employees, bringing the Palestinian economy to its knees.
"Due to the financial situation of the PA, the prime minister authorised, in coordination with the finance ministry, the transfer to the PA on a one-time basis, tax revenues of the previous month totalling [US$]100 million," the office of Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, said.
The statement did not make clear whether Israel would release the rest of the Palestinian tax revenue or continue withholding it in future.
The money represents only part of the amount Israel owes the PA, which earns about $100m a month in duties that are collected by Israel under interim peace arrangements reached in the 1990s. The total Israel amount ISrael is supposed to have handed over to the PA since November is $300m
Israel, which occupies the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, used December's tax collection to pay down a bill of about $200m owed by the Palestinians to the Israel Electricity Corporation.
Yesterday's decision follows a setback to Mr Netanyahu's right-wing Likud-Beiteinu alliance in this month's parliamentary elections, which saw a rise in seats for centrist parties.
Palestinian officials dismissed the gesture, however, describing Israel's withholding of PA tax money as "piracy" and the amount to be handed over as insufficient to reverse the economy's slide.
A PA official, speaking on condition of anonymity, criticised the move, saying that "to paint a picture of this being assistance to the PA just adds insult to injury because the Israelis have assaulted the livelihood of over a million Palestinians and undermined their institutions, almost to the brink of collapse".
Due to salary-payment disruptions, Palestinian unions have staged strikes halting public transport and schooling. Many Palestinians scrimp by shutting off heating in homes and businesses despite frigid winter temperatures.
Earlier this month, Salam Fayyad, the PA prime minister, called on Arab states to fulfil aid pledges, warning that his government's institutions had become almost "completely incapacitated".
"The financing problem that we've had in the last few years is solely due to some Arab donors not fulfilling their pledge of support in accordance with Arab League resolutions," Mr Fayyad said, adding that European countries had met their aid commitments.
Despite competing for aid with other countries in the region rattled by Arab Spring revolts, the Palestinians recently received $100m from Saudi Arabia. Mr Fayyad also said the United States had honoured all but $200m of US aid, which is held up in Congress because of the Palestinian upgrade in the UN.
Foreign aid received by the PA has dropped from $1.8 billion in 2008 to about $600m last year, forcing it to borrow from local banks, to which it now owes about $1.3bn.
hnaylor@thenational.ae
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Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Profile Box
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
Based: Manama, Bahrain
Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation
Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($100,000)
Investors: Two first-round investors including, 500 Startups, Fawaz Al Gosaibi Holding (Saudi Arabia)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up
Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm
On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm
The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm
Romang, June 28 at 6pm
Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm
Underdog, June 29 at 2pm
Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm
A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm
How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 5 (Lenglet 2', Vidal 29', Messi 34', 75', Suarez 77')
Valladolid 1 (Kiko 15')
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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Results
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clinicy%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Prince%20Mohammed%20Bin%20Abdulrahman%2C%20Abdullah%20bin%20Sulaiman%20Alobaid%20and%20Saud%20bin%20Sulaiman%20Alobaid%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Riyadh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2025%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20More%20than%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Middle%20East%20Venture%20Partners%2C%20Gate%20Capital%2C%20Kafou%20Group%20and%20Fadeed%20Investment%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900