Turkey called on the international community to take action against the deep financial crisis facing the Palestinian Authority. Speaking at the second meeting of the Palestinian Donor Group in Brussels, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Musa Kulaklıkaya stated that urgent financial and institutional support must be provided to Palestine.
Kulaklıkaya stated that ending the Israeli occupation and implementing the two-state solution is now an unavoidable necessity. He thanked the European Commission and the Palestinian Authority for keeping the Palestinian issue high on the international agenda.
Emphasizing that the Palestinian economy is on the verge of collapse due to Israel's sanctions and practices amounting to economic strangulation, Kulaklıkaya said, "The short-term financial stability of the Palestinian Authority depends on the immediate release of the tax revenues seized by Israel."
Saying that the common goal of successive Israeli governments is "to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and subjugate the Palestinian people," Kulaklıkaya stated that efforts should focus on providing support to the Palestinian Authority through financial, technical, and humanitarian aid.
Noting that Turkey will continue to support Palestine through capacity-building projects and development aid programs, Kulaklıkaya said that all joint efforts must ultimately aim for the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and geographically contiguous Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Addressing the international community, Kulaklıkaya said, "The international community must move beyond the stage of statements. We must support the Palestinian Authority financially and institutionally."
According to data from the Palestinian government, the revenues collected by Israel on behalf of Palestine, known as clearance revenues, account for approximately 68 percent of total budget revenues. The value of these funds withheld by Israel has exceeded $6 billion. Under the Paris Economic Protocol signed in 1994, Israel is obligated to collect taxes and customs duties on goods entering the occupied territories on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and transfer them monthly. However, Israel, which has been making deductions since 2019, has completely halted transfers for over a year. This has deepened the Palestinian Authority's financial crisis and left it unable to pay its employees' full salaries.
Israeli violations and attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank also continue. According to official Palestinian data, from October 8, 2023, to June 29, 2024, 1,179 Palestinians were killed, approximately 13,000 were injured, and nearly 24,000 were detained in attacks by the Israeli army and settlers.
