Two days ago, the Palestinian Minister of Finance held a press conference stating that the Palestinian treasury is not only empty but also collapsed. If the scale of these figures were in any other country or government, it would have immediately declared its collapse. However, the situation in Palestine is different from the rest, as the primary reason driving this collapse is the occupation and its racist government, which continues to withhold funds and confiscate millions of shekels, pursuing a policy of ending Palestinian representation. Therefore, we find that survival, patience, and possessing elements of steadfastness are more important than all numbers and indicators in a real confrontation with this occupation that works to suffocate the lives of Palestinians.
The new thing the Minister of Finance said is what his predecessors said. In recent years, the Palestinian treasury has not recovered, and since the Corona pandemic, we have fallen into the trap of "do you want more homeland or more money," leading to this situation where land is being seized and confiscated for the construction of new settlements, segregation walls, and bypass roads of a racist nature. And because governments come and go without accountability, promises scatter and dissipate at the moment of their resignation. From one era to another, disappointments continue, and the financial collapse in the Palestinian treasury continues, which could have been one of the richest budgets in the region, as it has no production cost and receives taxes on everything a consumer society imports, from cigarettes, petroleum, and gas to food and medicine.
Let's go back a little to the Minister of Finance's press conference; this conference, in my opinion, threatens stability and social cohesion, and it is an ill-advised and uncalculated step. He should not have held a press conference warning of worse to come; rather, it would have been more appropriate for him to remain, as every month, working in the shadows away from the media and press conferences, especially as he is making a dangerous statement about general bankruptcy and the high figures of debt.
The current government, since its formation, promised to improve the general situation and put in place a set of plans that it said would be sufficient to improve the economic and living reality. For two years, no improvement has occurred; instead, the reality is worsening, and pressures on citizens are increasing, and the situation has not improved in important sectors such as education and health. It is true that it came amidst a raging war of extermination, but this does not exempt it from accountability for what it promised and failed to achieve.
In every country in the world, governments that fail to achieve the minimum of what they promised resign for others to come, perhaps able to alleviate the burdens. If they do not resign, they are dismissed by a decision that serves the interests of the people, and neither of these has happened to date, despite the need and necessity for change. There is no doubt that the bankruptcy of the treasury and the accumulation of debts, which have reached astronomical figures, increase the burden on citizens, raise the level of pressure, and lead to undesirable consequences.
شارك برأيك
Rolling Crises and a Warning of Bankruptcy