Candidate Shadid Urges Israel to Unfreeze Tax Funds — Jerusalem Post
In Israel, Palestinian Legislative Council candidate Ahmad Shadid called on the country’s next government to unfreeze the Palestinian Authority’s tax revenues. According to him, this is necessary for the Palestinian economy and to prevent an “explosion” in the West Bank, the consequences of which could affect Jordan and the region.
Shadid heads the Al-Finiq (“Phoenix”) electoral list, announced by the Palestinian Central Elections Commission. As the Jerusalem Post reports, he named combating unemployment and the inefficiency of Palestinian Authority institutions as his team’s priorities.
Unemployment and Payments to Public Sector Employees
According to data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics released in August, the unemployment rate among people aged 15 and over in the West Bank stood at 27.9%, while the overall labour underutilization rate was about 29.9%.
Shadid proposed developing agricultural and industrial projects which, in his view, could employ tens of thousands of people. He also linked the employment crisis to restrictions on Palestinians’ access to work in Israel, the withholding of tax revenues, and restrictions affecting trade, industry and agriculture.
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After the Hamas attack on October 7, Israel cancelled work permits for approximately 140,000 Palestinians. According to 2024 data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 96% of businesses in the West Bank reported reduced activity, while 42.1% reduced their workforce. The source also notes that public sector employees received approximately half of their salaries, while many public institutions, including schools, reduced their operating hours amid Israel’s withholding of tax revenues.
Dispute Over Tax Revenues
In 2018, Israel adopted a law providing for the freezing of sums equivalent to Palestinian Authority payments to people convicted of attacks against Israelis. Shadid did not directly answer a question about such payments, but stated that the withheld funds belong to the Palestinian people. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas previously said that the amount of blocked funds had exceeded $6 billion.
Shadid also supported negotiations as a way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and said that the international community must pressure Israel to implement a two-state solution.
