Israel loans money to Palestinian Authority to avert economic and humanitarian crisis

Israel has reportedly loaned money to the Palestinian Authority in order to avert an economic and humanitarian crisis during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Jewish state has chosen to help their neighbours despite the Palestinian Authority repeatedly showing their anti-Semitic hatred during this crisis. The PA’s official daily newspaper accused Israel of a Coronavirus “Holocaust” against Palestinian terrorist prisoners last week and this week a PA spokesperson accused Israel of being “agents” of the Coronavirus.

The reality is that Israel is on the forefront of protecting the world from this virus through developing a vaccine and its sharing of knowledge.

Israel has proved itself to be one of the most effective countries at dealing with the outbreak with analysts saying Israel is the safest country during the outbreak. It is sharing this expertise with the world, including the Palestinians, and giving medical equipment to Gaza and training Palestinian doctors and nurses with Israel.

It is now going even further by financially supporting the Palestinians.

The Jerusalem Post reports:

Israel loaned money to the Palestinian Authority to help avert a COVID-19 economic and humanitarian crisis.

“The situation with [coronavirus] in the West Bank worries us all and could cause a humanitarian crisis,” Finance Minister Moshe Khalon (Likud) said on Thursday after he met with President Reuven Rivlin and UN Special Coordinator to the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Maj.-Gen. Kamil Abu Rukun and Chief of the UNESCO Coordination Unit, Jonathan Lincoln were also involved in the conversation on how best to help the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
According to the World Health Organization, there are 278 cases of COVID-19 among Palestinians in the West Bank, with two deaths. In addition, there are 13 cases in Gaza. But officials fear an outbreak and want to ensure that the Palestinians are equipped to handle that crisis.

Coronavirus “does not differentiate between peoples and geographical areas. The breakdown of health in the Palestinian Authority would impact Israel severely and it is in our interest to assist the PA in this complex situation,” Kahlon said.

The Finance Ministry told The Jerusalem Post that Israel transfers a monthly sum to the PA, but that is a partial sum, because Israel deducts from the transfer a sum equal to the amount the PA pays in monthly fees to terrorists and their families.

In light of the coronavirus crisis, Israel is now also providing the PA with a loan.

Read the full article at Jerusalem Post