logo
Smotrich Orders Halt to Israel-Palestinian Banks' Transaction, Threatening Economy

Smotrich Orders Halt to Israel-Palestinian Banks' Transaction, Threatening Economy

DayofPal– Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has ordered the termination of legal immunity granted to Israeli banks that conduct transactions with Palestinian banks.
The move is leading to the collapse of the Palestinian banking system, according to experts.
According to a statement from Smotrich's office, the finance minister directed Accountant General Yali Rothenberg to revoke the government guarantees provided to Israeli correspondent banks operating with banks under the Palestinian Authority (PA).
These guarantees had protected Israeli financial institutions from legal liability when handling transactions with their Palestinian counterparts.
The statement framed the decision as a response to what Smotrich described as the Palestinian Authority's 'delegitimization campaign' against Israel on the international stage.
Israeli Channel 12 reported that this decision 'could mean the economic collapse of the Palestinian banking system.'
Smotrich's move marks an escalation of his previously stated threats. In recent months, he warned of actions to 'bring down the Palestinian economy' if the UK or other countries imposed sanctions on Israeli officials, particularly in response to violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
Last November, Israel's Security Cabinet had extended the immunity arrangement for a further year, until November 2025. That protection allowed two major Israeli banks, Bank Hapoalim and Bank Discount, to continue processing financial transactions between Palestinian and Israeli institutions, as well as with international banks.
These banks are critical for currency exchanges, tax transfers, and broader international financial access for Palestinians.
Without this legal shield, Israeli banks are unlikely to continue their dealings with Palestinian institutions, effectively cutting off the financial lifeline between the Palestinian territories and the global banking system.
This move adds to a growing list of economic pressures Israel has placed on the Palestinian Authority. Among them is the continued withholding of maqasa (clearance) funds, taxes and customs duties collected by Israel on behalf of the PA for goods entering Palestinian territories.
These funds constitute a significant portion of the PA's operating budget and are essential for paying public sector salaries and basic services.
Analysts say that ending the banking protections could paralyze financial operations in the West Bank and Gaza, further destabilizing a Palestinian economy already reeling under Israeli occupation, war, and blockade.
Smotrich's latest move comes as he and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir face growing international condemnation.
On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway announced coordinated sanctions against the two far-right Israeli ministers, citing their incitement of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
According to The Times (UK), the sanctions include travel bans, asset freezes, and prohibitions on financial dealings with the ministers. The joint statement from the five countries expressed alarm at rising violence in the West Bank and condemned inflammatory rhetoric from Israeli officials.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=65233
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Bloody Night in Gaza: Dozens Killed, Hundreds Wounded in Strikes on Tents, Schools
Bloody Night in Gaza: Dozens Killed, Hundreds Wounded in Strikes on Tents, Schools

Days of Palestine

time4 hours ago

  • Days of Palestine

Bloody Night in Gaza: Dozens Killed, Hundreds Wounded in Strikes on Tents, Schools

DayofPal– Dozens of Palestinians were killed and hundreds injured overnight in a wave of deadly Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, targeting displaced civilians, aid seekers, residential homes, and shelters, according to local health authorities and eyewitnesses. One of the deadliest attacks took place in Mawasi Khan Younis, where at least 13 people were killed, including Sheikh Bilal Abu Assi, his wife, and their children, after an Israeli strike hit a tent sheltering displaced families near the Al-Akkad Mosque. In the Al-Majaida neighborhood, also in western Khan Younis, another strike on tents killed at least 10 civilians, leaving dozens more wounded, some critically. Throughout the city and its outskirts, a series of intense air raids resulted in 25 fatalities in just a few hours. In Gaza City, an Israeli warplane bombed Mustafa Hafiz School in the Al-Rimal neighborhood, which was housing hundreds of displaced people. At least 11 Palestinians were killed in the attack, with many more wounded. Charred bodies were recovered from the rubble, underscoring the ferocity of the strike. Other heavily bombarded areas included the neighborhoods of Shuja'iyya, Zaytoun, and Tuffah, where entire apartment buildings were leveled by Israeli forces. A school sheltering displaced civilians, Fahd Al-Sabah School, in the Tuffah neighborhood was also struck, while a drone dropped a bomb near Yaffa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, further endangering already overwhelmed medical services. In a now-routine horror, six civilians were killed and over 100 others injured while waiting for humanitarian aid east of Al-Nabulsi roundabout in western Gaza City. Another five people were killed in a similar attack targeting aid seekers near the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza. Additional casualties were reported after a tent in Al-Istable Street in western Khan Younis was bombed, leaving both dead and injured in its wake. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), approximately 85% of Gaza's territory is either under evacuation orders or designated as closed military zones, placing unbearable pressure on essential services. The main water distribution center in Khan Younis has become inaccessible, threatening the collapse of the entire city's water infrastructure. Palestinian factions condemned the ongoing massacres, particularly the bombing of the Mustafa Hafiz School and the targeting of starved civilians waiting for food aid. The groups held the United States, and President Joe Biden in particular, fully responsible for the crimes, accusing international institutions of complicity through their silence and inaction. Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with U.S. support, has waged a war of genocide in Gaza, involving mass killings, starvation, forced displacement, and the systematic destruction of infrastructure, in defiance of International Court of Justice rulings and global appeals to halt the assault. Shortlink for this post:

Investigation: Israel Dropped US-Made 500lb Bomb on Gaza Beach Café, Killing Dozens
Investigation: Israel Dropped US-Made 500lb Bomb on Gaza Beach Café, Killing Dozens

Days of Palestine

time4 hours ago

  • Days of Palestine

Investigation: Israel Dropped US-Made 500lb Bomb on Gaza Beach Café, Killing Dozens

DayofPal– The bomb Israel used in an attack on the beachside café of Al-Baqa some days ago weighed 500 lb (230kg) and was manufactured by the U.S. with the type MK-82, a general-purpose bomb known for its wide blast radius and destructive capability, an investigation by The Guardian reveals. The Israeli airstrike on a crowded beachside café in Gaza City killed at least 24 Palestinians and injured dozens more, including children, in what human rights experts are calling a potential war crime. The strike, which took place on Monday, leveled the Al-Baqa Café, a popular two-storey venue frequented by families and young people along Gaza's beachfront. Among the dead were children, a prominent filmmaker, a journalist, and a well-known artist. Survivors, many of them severely wounded, were pulled from the rubble in scenes of chaos and grief. Ordnance experts consulted by The Guardian identified remnants of the bomb as belonging to the MK-82 series, or potentially the MPR500, both of which are powerful, air-dropped munitions widely used by the U.S. military. The impact left a massive crater and destroyed much of the surrounding area. Despite claims by the Israeli military that it had taken steps to minimize civilian harm through aerial surveillance, experts and rights groups say the evidence points to a deliberate attack on a known civilian area. 'The military would have known the café was full,' said Gerry Simpson, associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch. 'This should be investigated as a war crime.' Legal experts echoed that assessment, highlighting the use of such heavy munitions in a densely populated civilian zone. 'Even with the best targeting in the world, using heavy munitions in such a space leads to indiscriminate outcomes. This violates international law,' said Dr. Andrew Forde, a human rights law expert at Dublin City University. The café was not in an evacuation zone, and satellite imagery suggests it had clear visibility from above, further raising questions about the Israeli army's claim that the strike targeted militants or military assets. Trevor Ball, a former U.S. Army explosives expert, confirmed that fragments recovered from the site matched components of MK-82 or MPR500 bombs, underscoring the destructive power of the ordnance used. The strike comes amid growing international concern over the scale and intensity of Israel's military campaign in Gaza. According to Reuters, the United States supplied Israel with vast quantities of advanced weaponry during the first year of the war, including at least 14,000 2,000-pound MK-84 bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, and more than 2,600 small-diameter air-dropped munitions. In 2024, the Biden administration agreed to resume the delivery of 500-pound bombs to Israel, despite mounting allegations of war crimes and accusations of genocide. Legal and humanitarian organizations are calling for independent investigations into attacks on civilian sites and for an immediate halt to arms transfers fueling the war. Shortlink for this post:

UN Rapporteur: Israel Perpetrating One of the Most Brutal Genocides in Modern History
UN Rapporteur: Israel Perpetrating One of the Most Brutal Genocides in Modern History

Days of Palestine

time4 hours ago

  • Days of Palestine

UN Rapporteur: Israel Perpetrating One of the Most Brutal Genocides in Modern History

DaysofPal — The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories has declared that Israel is committing 'one of the most brutal acts of genocide in modern history,' with particular condemnation of the so-called 'Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,' described as a 'deadly trap' designed to either kill civilians or force their displacement. In recent statements, the UN official asserted that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has surpassed all previous thresholds, citing continuous massacres, a near-total collapse of the healthcare system, and widespread famine and medical shortages. Israel, the Rapporteur emphasized, is deliberately weaponizing aid—turning food and medical relief into tools of control, punishment, and starvation. More than 170 international organizations have issued a joint appeal demanding an immediate end to this system—managed in coordination between Israeli forces and the United States—on grounds that it flagrantly violates core principles of humanitarian law and endangers civilian lives. According to multiple international reports, over 400 civilians have been killed since May while attempting to access food distribution points linked to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Observers have characterized this as a systematic targeting of starving civilians, pointing to a pattern of intentional harm. Senior UN officials, including the Secretary-General, have echoed these concerns, stating that 'humanitarian aid in Gaza has been turned into a weapon of death.' The UN Human Rights Office has further warned that the use of starvation as a method of warfare may constitute a war crime under international law. Concluding the statement, the UN Rapporteur affirmed that what is unfolding in Gaza meets the legal and moral definition of deliberate and systematic genocide, and called for the urgent launch of an independent international investigation, criminal accountability for perpetrators, and immediate intervention by the global community to protect the remaining civilian population. Shortlink for this post:

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store