by Saud Abu Ramadan, Emad Drimly
RAMALLAH, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian leadership's decision of abolishing all bilateral agreements and understandings with Israel and the United States has negatively influenced the daily life of the Palestinians, said analysts.
The adverse effects of the decision included a severe fiscal crisis that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been passing through since May 17, besides the difficulties that the Palestinian security apparatuses are facing after severing security coordination with Israel.
The Ramallah-based political analyst Ghassan al-Khatib told Xinhua that freezing all types of relations with Israel "has led to increasing the suffering of the Palestinian citizens, who pay a high price for the abolition of the agreements and daily life affairs coordination with Israel."
"The Palestinians get into a new curve of the difficult living and social conditions, including travel difficulties, a decline in the financial capabilities of the Palestinian Authority, besides the cessation of the daily civil and security coordination," said al-Khatib.
However, the political analyst clarified that the Palestinian citizens don't complain "because they believe that steadfastness is necessary to confront the Israeli plans of annexing Palestinian lands, and the leadership's decision is part of the Palestinians' struggle against the Israeli occupation."
Al-Khatib warned that the PA might collapse due to the growing financial crisis as a result of its refusal to receive the monthly tax revenue dues that Israel collects from the Palestinian trade.
On May 17, the Palestinian leadership announced the abolition of all agreements and understandings reached with Israel and the United States in response to the Israeli plans of annexing large areas of the West Bank territories.
Due to the severe financial crisis, the PA government paid partial salaries to its civil and security servants after receiving loans from the Palestinian banks.
Shukri Bishara, the Palestinian Minister of Finance, had earlier said that the Palestinian budget is facing an 80-percent drop in its financial resources due to severing ties with Israel, refusing to receive tax revenue dues, and the coronavirus crisis.
Two days ago, the Israeli authorities banned the travel of two Palestinian infants with their parents through the Israeli-controlled crossing points between the West Bank and Jordan, allegedly saying that the parents didn't register the babies in the civil records.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also announced that Israel had banned the travel of 11 Palestinians from the West Bank abroad, claiming that they didn't register their newly issued passports in the civil records, which jointly coordinated between the PA and Israel.
Starting from May 17, the PA registers newborn babies, issues identity cards to Palestinians who turn 16 years old and releases new Palestinian passports, but didn't record them in the joint Israeli-Palestinian records.
Before severing ties and coordination with Israel, the PA used to send daily updates of the civil registration records to Israel. The PA sends the data through the joint liaison offices of the PA and Israel.
Meanwhile, the PA security apparatuses have been facing difficulties related to imposing security and control on large areas in the West Bank, mainly Area C, which is under full Israeli control, according to the signed peace agreements.
Hani al-Masri, director of the Ramallah-based Masarat Center for Research and Studies, told Xinhua that "severing ties and coordination ... is substantial in all fields, and eliminating all the agreements is not an easy process made in one decision."
"Implementing the Palestinian decision of eliminating agreements and understandings with Israel needs a long-term process that starts with gradual steps until reaching a final stage of the abolition of the agreements," said al-Masri.
Also, the Palestinian Ministry of Economy said in a statement that there was a partial halt of the movement of goods imported to the Palestinian territories, adding that this constituted about 30 percent of the total import, as it requires prior coordination with Israel.
The Ramallah-based economic expert Tariq Al-Hajj told Xinhua that the disconnection of the Palestinian economic ties with the Israeli side leaves "considerable repercussions" on the Palestinian economy.
He explained that Israel controls the Palestinian ports and crossing points and restricts the flow of goods, whether for export or import.
Al-Hajj expected the economic situation in Palestine would worsen in the coming months, adding that the gradual disengagement from the Israeli economy requires the Palestinian side to build a strong economy and develop local resources. Enditem
