Who's going to pay for Palestinian budget gap?
The new Palestinian state budget is being criticized both for its approval process and its expenditures, which some critics say favor administrative items at the expense of other sectors.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The recently approved 2016 Palestinian general budget is garnering a lot of criticism from legislators who consider it lopsided at best, and possibly illegal.
The $4.25 billion budget is marked by high administrative spending but no allocations for development expenses, leading some Palestinian citizens to fear the government will impose more taxes to reduce the budget gap financing.
President Mahmoud Abbas and his Cabinet approved the budget in early January, but the legislation was never submitted to the full Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).
“The approval of the general budget without presenting it to the PLC is an illegal measure,” Ahmed Attoun, Hamas member of parliament in the West Bank, told Al-Monitor.
