PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Occupied Territories: Economic Situation (4 March 2019)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of Israel’s decision to withhold $138 million in taxes from the Palestinian authorities on the economic situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Asked by:
Marsha De Cordova (Labour)

​The UK is concerned about the impact of Israel's decision to withhold tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority (PA). The Israeli decision will have significant consequences for stability and security, and will impact the humanitarian and economic situation for ordinary Palestinians. We expect economic and fiscal agreements between Israel and the PA to continue to be fully implemented, including Israel's obligations under the Oslo Accords and Paris Protocol. The UK raised our concerns about Israel's decision with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 21 February. We also remain concerned about the Palestinian system of payments to prisoners and lobby the PA on this issue. But this is not a justification for withholding agreed tax revenues.

Answered by:
Alistair Burt (Conservative)
12 March 2019