Palestine begins to restore civil, security ties with Israel after 6-month halt

2020-11-23 22:05:53 GMT2020-11-24 06:05:53(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

RAMALLAH, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Monday began to restore civil and security relations with Israel following a six-month suspension of the bilateral agreements signed between the two sides.

The employees of the General Authority for Civil Affairs, the Palestinian liaison office that coordinates civil relations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel including registration of new births and issuing passports and work permits, have returned to work at its offices and branches in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

It is worth noting that during the past six months when the Palestine Authority severed its relations with Israel, the Palestinian citizens used to go to the Israeli civil administration offices in the West Bank for their documents and work permits.

Last week, the Palestinian Authority decided to restore relations with Israel.

The Palestinian Authority and Israeli officials held their first bilateral meeting on Nov. 19 in Ramallah and discussed the practical measures to resume the civil and security coordination.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye told the online meeting of the cabinet earlier in the day that the Palestinian government will accept parts of the tax revenue dues from Israel.

On May 19, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced that the Palestinian side decided to suspend the bilateral agreements signed with Israel, including security coordination, and refused to accept the tax revenue dues.

According to the bilateral agreements between the two sides, Israel collects taxes from the Palestinian trade at commercial crossing points it controls in the West Bank and Gaza and pays it back later to the Palestinian Authority. Enditem

| PRINT | RSS