Israeli Finance Minister Orders Cancellation of Waiver on Cooperation with Palestinian Banks
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich walks to visit the Damascus Gate to Jerusalem's Old City, as Israelis mark Jerusalem Day, in Jerusalem May 26, 2025.
June 10 (Reuters) – Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered on Tuesday the cancellation of a waiver on cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian banks, in a move that puts the Palestinian banking system at risk.
Smotrich said the decision came against the 'delegitimization campaign' by the Palestinian Authority against Israel globally, according to a statement from his office.
The waiver had allowed Israeli banks to process shekel payments for services and salaries tied to the Palestinian Authority, without the risk of being charged with money laundering and funding extremism.
Without it, Palestinian banks would be cut off from the Israeli financial system.
The decision comes as the Palestinian Authority continued to face mounting financial pressure from a slowdown in aid, a squeeze on a system of tax revenue transfers by Israel and a slump in contributions from Palestinians who have been shut out of the Israeli labour market by the war in Gaza.
It comes hours after the United Kingdom and four other nations imposed on him and another far-right minister sanctions for inciting violence in the West Bank. The sanctions included a freeze on assets and travel bans.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nikkei Asia
24 minutes ago
- Nikkei Asia
China EV king BYD's share price drop signals rocky road ahead
Chinese automaker BYD's Atto 2 is pictured during a presentation in Italy in February. The model hits the Singaporean market this week, as the company faces an uphill battle to hit its annual sales target. © Reuters WATARU SUZUKI SHANGHAI -- Shares of BYD, China's leading electric vehicle maker, are under pressure from slowing domestic sales and greater scrutiny over its aggressive pricing strategy.
Yomiuri Shimbun
an hour ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Netanyahu Fires Attorney General as Domestic Pressure over Gaza Heats up
TEL AVIV – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government voted unanimously Monday to dismiss his attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, the chief prosecutor in his ongoing corruption case, as he faces growing criticism inside Israel and U.S. impatience over his government's management of the war in Gaza. The vote to remove Baharav-Miara, a frequent critic of the government's policies, marks one of the more significant steps in Netanyahu's years-long effort to exert political influence over the country's legal system. It is also expected to lead to a confrontation between the elected government and the appointed justices on Israel's Supreme Court, who will review and rule on the legality of Baharav-Miara's removal. Immediately after the vote, opposition party Yesh Atid filed a petition to block the move, as did the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a watchdog group that said the vote would politicize the office of the attorney general. In response, Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg issued a temporary order freezing the decision. In a letter to her staff, Baharav-Miara wrote that the government's decision was unlawful. 'Political pressure will not deter us from continuing to perform our duties with statesmanship, professionalism, and integrity,' she wrote. According to a draft resolution released last week, cabinet ministers said the move was necessary because the government had 'no confidence whatsoever' in Baharav-Miara. Netanyahu's supporters say she routinely overstepped, including in March, when she blocked the prime minister's move to fire the head of Israel's internal security service, Ronen Bar. Baharav-Miara said the dismissal was improper because Netanyahu and some of his closest aides were facing several criminal investigations. The political turmoil Monday unfolded as Netanyahu faced renewed pressure to end the war. On Sunday, 19 former Israeli military, security and intelligence chiefs released a video criticizing the government for prolonging the conflict and failing to plan for the day after. Together, they warned Israel that the government was harming the country's security, and urged the prime minister to stop military operations in Gaza and secure a deal to release the remaining hostages. 'There are situations where a black flag must be raised, and we must say, this ends here,' said Moshe Yaalon, a former chief of staff for the Israeli military. 'Right now, we have a government that has been dragged by messianics into an irrational direction,' he added, referring to the far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition. Those members, including several cabinet ministers, oppose negotiating with Hamas and have called on the prime minister to reoccupy Gaza and allow them to rebuild Jewish settlements there. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was also in Israel over the weekend to discuss efforts to pressure Hamas. On Saturday, he met with the families of hostages in Hostages Square – the central Tel Aviv plaza where tens of thousands have gathered for weekly protests – to relay a message that the United States was now pursuing a more inclusive hostage release agreement, one that would require Hamas to free all those still in captivity in exchange for a formal end to the conflict. In recent days, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group in Gaza, triggered mass street protests in Tel Aviv after they released videos showing two male hostages emaciated and begging to be saved. Israelis were horrified by the footage of the two hostages: 24-year-old Evyatar David – who was shown shirtless, his bones protruding as he was forced to dig what he said could be his own grave – and Rom Braslavski, 22, who was seen lying on a mattress and pleading for food. Monday's cabinet vote took place 'as our hostages are dying in the tunnels, as Israeli society is tearing itself apart,' Yair Golan, an Israeli opposition politician, said at a demonstration near the Knesset on Monday afternoon. Israel's government, Golan said, 'is not dealing with freeing the hostages, ending the war. … It is not bothered with Israel's safety.' During almost two years of war, military and security officials, as well as the families of hostages, have warned that Israel's ground invasion endangers those still held in Gaza – and that a negotiated agreement is the only way to bring the majority of the hostages home. An Israeli military investigation last year found that operations, 'although gradual and cautious, had a circumstantial influence' on the Hamas militants who killed six hostages in a tunnel where they were being held in Rafah in southern Gaza. But on Monday, Netanyahu projected an image of defiance, praising Israelis 'who fight together and win together' in a post on X. He vowed to 'continue until the enemy is defeated, all the hostages are released, and security is guaranteed for the residents of Israel.' Israeli news media reported late Monday that Netanyahu would convene his security cabinet this week to discuss plans for Gaza. A person familiar with decision-making in the prime minister's office, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the news media, said that Netanyahu had decided to 'occupy the Gaza Strip, meaning that military operations will also take place in areas where hostages are being held.' In pursuing moves against the attorney general, and leaning toward more military action in Gaza, Netanyahu 'is acting against the will of the Israeli majority, who want a comprehensive deal today to bring the hostages home and end the war,' said Gayil Talshir, a senior lecturer on political science at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. 'Today, the prime minister and his government see themselves as above the law.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
an hour ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Russia's Medvedev Warns of Further Steps after Moscow Abandons Missile Moratorium
MOSCOW, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Russian former President Dmitry Medvedev blamed NATO countries on Monday for the abandonment of a moratorium on short- and medium-range nuclear missiles and said Moscow would take further steps in response. Medvedev, who has been engaging in a exchange of acerbic barbs on social media with U.S. President Donald Trump, made his comments after Russia's Foreign Ministry said Moscow no longer considered itself bound by the moratorium on the deployment of short- and medium-range nuclear missiles. 'The Russian Foreign Ministry's statement on the withdrawal of the moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range missiles is the result of NATO countries' anti-Russian policy,' Medvedev posted in English on X. 'This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with. Expect further steps.' Medvedev, who now serves as deputy head of Russia's powerful Security Council, did not elaborate. The U.S. withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty in 2019, citing Russian non-compliance. Russia has since said it would not deploy such weapons provided that Washington did not do so. However, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov signalled last December that Moscow would have to respond to what he called 'destabilising actions' by the U.S. and NATO in the strategic sphere. 'Since the situation is developing towards the actual deployment of U.S.-made land-based medium- and short-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, the Russian Foreign Ministry notes that the conditions for maintaining a unilateral moratorium on the deployment of similar weapons have disappeared,' the ministry said in its statement. The INF treaty, signed in 1987 by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan, eliminated an entire class of weapons — ground-launched missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometres (311 to 3,418 miles). Medvedev, seen initially in the West as a potential moderate and reformer, has become one of the most hawkish senior officials on foreign policy in Moscow. Trump last Friday said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be moved to 'the appropriate regions' in response to remarks from Medvedev about the risk of war between the nuclear-armed adversaries.
