Israel’s finance minister has extended an exemption allowing cooperation between its banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank, the minister’s spokesman said on Sunday (30).
The exemption, which would expire at the end of June, allows Israeli banks to process shekel payments for services and salaries linked to the Palestinian Authority. Without it, the Palestinian economy would have been hit.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich extended the exemption during a recent cabinet meeting, his spokesman said.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said it was important to keep Israeli-Palestinian correspondent banking relationships open to allow hard-hit economies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to function and help ensure security.
The Palestinian economy relies heavily on this relationship to process transactions made in Israeli shekels.
About 53 billion shekels ($14 billion) were exchanged in Palestinian banks in 2023, official data shows.
($1 = 3.77 shekels)
(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Source: CNN Brasil
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