Saudi-Palestine Agree to Establish Joint Business Committee

Riyadh, MINA – Saudi Arabia and Palestine on Thursday, October 17 agreed to establish a joint economic committee and business council, especially to deal with the budget gap that reaches US $1.8 billion.

Abbas, who arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday, met with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to Saudi Press SPA.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has been in a deep financial crisis since February when Israel froze the transfer of taxes and customs collected on behalf of Palestinians.

His government must impose austerity measures, cutting almost half of the salaries of its employees.

He added that the leaders reached “an agreement on the formation of a joint economic committee and Saudi-Palestinian business council”.

But the report did not elaborate further on the agreement.

Israeli cuts have had serious impact on Palestinian territories, with the unemployment rising to 26 percent in the second quarter of 2019, the World Bank reports.

Israel collects around the US $190 million per month from customs duties for the Palestinian market that transits through ports and they should transfer the money to Palestinian Authority.

In February, Israel decided to deduct about US $ 10 million per month from tax revenue. (T/Sj/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)