Arab teenagers jumped off of trampolines and leapt through rings inside a massive tent on the fringes of Ramallah, the economic center of the occupied West Bank.
The director of the circus faced economic difficulties to purchase the camp from Europe and hoops from Asia, but not just the circus students who bent over forward in the palace.
The head of the Palestinian Circus School, Mohamad Rabah, criticized a administrative process that may cause equipment delivery to take up to a month.” We are suffering with foreign payments.
Banking in the Palestinian territories is challenging, with the Palestinian Authority ( PA ) under scrutiny for potential terror financing, hindering transactions.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, with strong economic ties allowing two Israeli lenders to serve as correspondent banks in the Palestinian territory.
However, this might change if Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s extreme right-wing finance minister, threatens to cut a crucial bank way next month.
Israel has imposed financial restrictions on the PA, withholding tax earnings it collects on its behalf, since Hamas ‘ October 7 strike sparked the Gaza conflict.
Smotrich said this month he had redirected$ 35 million in PA taxes revenues to people of “terrorism” subjects, a shift condemned by the United States.
After three Western nations in May agreed to the status of a Palestinian state, Smotrich told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he would not provide compensation to businesses that tranfer the money as of the end of June.
Israel’s Bank Hapoalim and Israel Discount Bank need security, expiring on July 1, to evade sanctions for dealing with Israeli loans.
When contacted by AFP, Israel’s finance ministry and central banks declined to comment.
– ‘ Humanitarian crises’-
$ 8 billion is handled annually by the bank channel that handles West Bank imports, including important items like water, gas, and food.
Israeli companies receive practically$ 1.7 billion annually for imports, according to the Palestine Monetary Authority.
” For us, because our business is centered on the Jewish market, because Israel is controlling the frontier, the effect will be high”, said PMA government Feras Milhem.
The 1994 Paris Protocol, which gave the Israeli government complete control over the territories ‘ borders, including the right to acquire import duties and value-added tax, is largely responsible for the Arab economy.
Israeli laborer entry restrictions and a sharp decline in tourism in the area, including a silent Christmas season in Bethlehem, have also had an impact on Arab livelihoods.
Israel has been urged by the United States to improve their situation, warning that a breaking the bank route may have a devastating impact on the West Bank economy.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated last month,” I believe it may cause a humanitarian crises in due course if Arab businesses are cut off from Jewish correspondence.”
West-owned organizations are concerned that Israel’s monetary policies could cause the West Bank to become unstable.
A German political supply in Jerusalem told AFP on condition of anonymity that” the banking system does collapse and the PA may decline as well.”
The PA is experiencing a financial crisis, and it might decline before August.
– Digital money-
Israeli businesspeople claim that their bottom lines have suffered since October 7.
Imad Rabah, who owns a polymers business, said his gross income had fallen 50 percent in one month.
Nakhleh Jubran, a producer of arak, reported a 30 % decline in his alcoholic beverage business.
” We have an economic warfare in the West Bank and a conventional battle in Gaza,” said Jubran.
The Jewish policies, according to Musa Shamieh, the owner of a women’s clothing store, were meant to compel Palestinians to keep the West Bank.
They want us to leave our land, and they know it will be difficult for them to stay if they ca n’t conduct business, according to Shamieh.
In the future, Israeli policymakers may be inspired by Israel’s severe economic policies to implement radical changes to the financial system.
The PMA, which uses the image of the former Israeli pound as its brand, said,” We need to work on a plan B when it comes to business relationships.”
Yousef Daoud, doctor at the West Bank’s Birzeit University, said the country could waste the dinar as its de facto money in favour of a modern alternative.
” We can create our e- currency, simply collect all the shekels, issue an equal amount of Arab pounds, one- to- one fixed exchange rate, and have the Palestinians deal with e- currency”, he said.
” Somehow, later, we’ll get rid of the shekel”.
