RAMALLAH, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye on Thursday urged the World Bank to monitor Israel's cutback in its payment of the PA tax revenues.
Ishtaye, who met with Kanthan Shankar, the World Bank's director in the Palestinian territories, called on the World Bank "to play a role of creating an effective billing mechanism between the Palestinians and Israel," his office said in a statement.
Ishtaye accused Israel of destroying the Palestinian economy and exhausting it by cutting funds from the Palestinian tax revenue dues.
"Israel is trying to drag the banking institutions operating in Palestine into a legal war that could lead to its loss and closure," the statement said.
At the end of April, Israel Radio reported that Israel transferred 660 million Israeli shekels (183 million U.S. dollars) to the PA to avoid its collapse, but the PA refused to receive the money and sent it back to Israel.
In February, the PA said that it refused to receive partial tax revenue dues from Israel after the latter deduct the amount the PA pays the families of prisoners jailed by Israel and the Palestinians killed in the conflict with Israel.
Israel collects taxes from Palestinian importers on behalf of the PA as it controls the borders and ports, but it should pay the taxes back to the PA every month under a deal signed by the two sides.
The PA Ministry of Finance said earlier that the monthly tax revenue dues it receives from Israel represent half of its monthly budget.
Meanwhile, Shankar expressed the readiness of the World Bank and its institutions working under its umbrella in Palestine to raise the level of coordination to make the implemented projects meet the priorities of the Palestinian government.
