Palestinian budget excludes Gaza, unless it toes the line
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ratified the 2018 public budget — which includes a controversial, quid pro quo clause regarding funds for the Gaza Strip — without obtaining the proper approval, raising questions about the Palestinian Authority’s desire to achieve reconciliation.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas is rejecting the Palestinian Authority's 2018 public budget, which President Mahmoud Abbas approved this month. Some legislators believe the budget is illegal.
The budget was submitted to the government of national consensus and ratified Feb. 27, without being presented to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) as required by law. The government merely presented the budget to a number of parliamentary bloc members, prompting PLC First Deputy Speaker Ahmed Bahar to denounce the process and assert that the budget is illegitimate. In a Feb. 28 news conference, he also called for the government to resign.
The Palestine News Agency, WAFA, reported that the Palestinian Council of Ministers stressed in its weekly meeting Feb. 27 that the first version of the budget has taken into consideration the status quo in the Gaza Strip. This would mean that not all of the expenditures are fully calculated yet. Under this scenario, the budget is estimated at $5 billion, including $3.8 billion in revenues, $775 million in foreign aid, $4.5 billion in current expenses and a funding gap of $498 million.
WAFA indicated that another version of the unified budget was also prepared to include the Gaza Strip in case reconciliation is achieved. That budget would amount to $5.8 billion, including $5.2 billion in current expenses, $4 billion in revenues, $775 million in foreign aid and an estimated budget gap of $1 billion. This means expenses would be 11% higher than revenues.
