Will Palestine shun the shekel?
Many Palestinian officials consider dethroning the shekel as a necessary step toward limiting Palestine's economic ties with Israel.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian Authority (PA) again is considering a foreign currency, such as the US dollar or the Jordanian dinar, as a temporary currency for Palestinian territories, instead of the Israeli shekel now used as a main legal tender.
On Nov. 4, a PLO subcommittee formed to consider limiting security, political and economic relations with Israel proposed taking such action, and the PLO Executive Committee (EC) has adopted the recommendation.
Well-informed Palestinian political sources in the PLO EC told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “Ideas are being exchanged and discussed by members of the Palestinian leadership and some politicians in power to identify the advantages and disadvantages of adopting another currency in Palestine as a main legal tender instead of the shekel, awaiting the issuance of a national currency.”
Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA) Gov. Jihad al-Wazir had threatened in April 2014 to resort to the US dollar or the Jordanian dinar as a temporary trading currency instead of the shekel when Israeli banks reduced the Palestinian deposit ceiling to punish Palestine for its accession to international treaties. This led to millions of shekels piling up in Palestinian banks.
