GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' cabinet is down to the wire once again as its extended deadline to submit a 2019 general budget draws near.
Under Palestinian law, the Council of Ministers should have submitted a draft general budget to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) at least two months before the beginning of the next fiscal year, which is the same as the calendar year. However, the law does provide for a three-month extension if necessary.
When Dec. 31 came and went, officials received the extension, which expires March 31. Almost three months into 2019, the government has discussed the budget only twice, on Feb. 12 and March 12. At the March meeting, the cabinet deferred any action to an undefined future session.
The failure to approve the 2019 budget can supposedly be attributed to two reasons. The Palestinian consensus government resigned Jan. 29 so a new government can be formed (though it has stayed on in the interim), and Israel decided Feb. 17 to deduct around 502 million shekels ($138 million) of Palestinian customs revenues. Israel claims the deducted amount is equivalent to the amount paid by the PLO in 2018 as stipends for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and the families of Palestinian victims killed or wounded in confrontations with Israel.
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