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The autonomy will also receive VAT and customs revenue that it has in Israel, but which Abbas has refused to accept, in protest that Israel deducts the money that the autonomy pays to the families of Palestinian security prisoners.
The reason for the change of course, announced in Ramallah, is the electoral victory of Joe Biden and the signs from Washington that the United States is about to abandon Donald Trump’s anti-Palestinian policy. In fact, Abbas used the change of power in the United States as a pretext to repair relations with Israel and receive the billions that Israel manages. The Palestinian public is outraged that his government, for reasons of principle, has given up money it would have allocated for their salaries. Thousands of government employees have not received full pay since last winter and a severe shortage prevails in most households.
Abbas suspended security cooperation with Israel protesting its plans to annex parts of the West Bank. But it did not resume cooperation when Israel scrapped annexation plans in connection with the peace deal with the United Arab Emirates. Visible security cooperation, such as patrols and meetings, has stalled, but all Palestinians know that cooperation at the intelligence level, mainly measures against the Islamist Hamas, has continued as usual.
