It is highly unusual for the Palestinian president to repeat a statement made by the prime minister, but that is what happened when President Mahmoud Abbas used his relatively new Twitter account to echo in Arabic a statement made in English by Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh to the New York Times.

In an interview with David M. Halbfinger published June 5, Shtayyeh explained that if Israel continues to withhold tax monies it collects on his government's behalf, it could necessitate laying off members of the Palestinian security services. Should that happen, Shtayyeh said, it will be a “very hot summer. At every level.”

Shtayyeh spokesman Ibrahim Milhem told Al-Monitor that the issue is not limited to the furloughing of security forces staff. “What the prime minister was talking about is that the effect of the financial crisis will affect the entirety of Palestinian life,” Milhem explained. “If members of the security forces are let go, that means that the economy will suffer because there will be less salary-earning citizens feeding the economy, which is already in a difficult situation due to US cuts for various projects, including UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency], hospitals, security and infrastructure projects.”

While much of the focus has been on Shtayyeh's warning in terms of security service employees, reliable sources told Al-Monitor that it is unlikely the security forces will be significantly affected. A former government minister who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that the most likely scenario is not one of having to fire security officers, but imposing a moratorium on new hiring and accelerating the retirement process of older service members.