Ramallah refuses to accept deducted taxes from Israel

<p>By Qais Abu Samra</p> <p>RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – The Palestinian government on Wednesday refused to accept deducted tax revenues collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA), a Palestinian official said.</p> <p>“We returned the funds to the Israeli side after finding that some 42 million shekels [roughly $11.5 million] had been deducted,” Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said in a statement.</p> <p>Last week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said his government would refuse to accept tax revenue collected by Israel on behalf of the PA.<br> </p> <p>Abbas made the announcement after Israel said it would deduct some 502 million Israeli shekels (roughly $138 million) from the taxes thus collected.</p> <p>Israel claims this amount is being paid out by the PA each month to the families of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel for staging attacks on Israeli targets.</p> <p>Abbas says the PA will continue to pay monthly stipends to the families of Palestinian prisoners and martyrs. </p> <p>Israel collects around $175 million each month in taxes on Palestinian imports and exports on behalf of the PA, for which tax revenue represents the main source of income.</p>