Palestinian Council of Ministers warns of a phase in which national institutions may be unable to continue providing their services due to the continued withholding of clearance funds.

The Council of Ministers warned, Thursday evening, of the repercussions of the ongoing comprehensive Israeli war on our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, as well as the continued settler attacks, restrictions on movement at crossings, the closure of checkpoints, and the withholding of clearance funds, which constitute more than two-thirds of the state's revenues. This threatens the ability of government institutions to provide basic services to citizens, especially in the health, education, social protection, and various other vital sectors.

The Council noted that the value of the withheld funds has now exceeded 8.2 billion shekels, in addition to the clearing of the past two months, bringing the total withheld amount to approximately 9.1 billion shekels. This has significantly impacted the government's ability to fulfill its financial obligations towards various vital sectors, especially the health sector, which suffers from a shortage of medicines and medical supplies. This threatens to paralyze the health sector, in addition to undermining the ability of other institutions to perform their duties. It also highlights dangerous indicators such as the rising levels of poverty and unemployment and their repercussions on civil and societal peace and internal stability.

The Council also warned that the continuation of this situation, and the government's failure to fulfill its obligations to employees and various sectors, will negatively impact the quality of services and the performance of its various functions. This could lead to a decision to temporarily suspend the work of some government departments and drastically reduce employee working hours.

The Cabinet affirmed that the Palestinian leadership, headed by Mr. President, is continuing its intensive political and legal efforts to restore the rights of our people. It called on various countries of the world, especially the United States, as a signatory to the Oslo Accords, and France, as the host country of the Paris Agreement, to exert more pressure to compel Israel to implement the signed obligations. It also warned of the danger of running out of time to take the necessary effective action to ensure stability and peace in the region.

In a related context, the Council of Ministers affirmed that despite all these complexities and difficult circumstances, it continues to work to recover our withheld financial rights and secure all possible resources to meet financial obligations, particularly employee salaries and those of various sectors.

The Council directed heads of government departments to expedite the necessary measures to regulate public institutions' working hours in a manner consistent with the current challenge and the continuity of service provision.