{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=F477A381-91DE-48A6-8275-990FED884AE8", "Warner and Colleagues Sound the Alarm About Economic Deterioration in the West Bank", "2023-12-21", "2023", "2023-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "VA", "Mark R. Warner", "W000805", "www.warner.senate.gov", "warner", "https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, led Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tom Carper (D-DE) Jack Reed (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) in sounding the alarm about the economic deterioration in the West Bank and the troubling rise in violent acts perpetrated by extremist Israeli settlers. In a letter to President Biden, the lawmakers stressed the need for Israel to take steps to address the growing instability in the West Bank, including by ensuring that the Palestinian Security Forces are able to ward off violence against innocent Palestinian civilians and prevent further destabilization, which could open an additional front to the conflict.\n\nThis letter follows a decision by Israel to withhold a significant portion of tax revenues that its government collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA). These revenues \u2013 meant to be collected and transferred based on longstanding agreement \u2013 are critical for the PA\u2019s civil administration and security purposes.\n\n\u201cA range of factors since October 7 \u2013 including a loss of wages for the thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank whose work permits Israel revoked \u2013 have contributed to an economic situation that has shuttered thousands of West Bank businesses and reduced the Palestinian Authority\u2019s (PA) revenues by roughly 80 percent. Those revenues support a range of critical functions for the PA, including paying public-worker salaries as well as the salaries of members of the Palestinian Security Forces, whose local law enforcement and security efforts are critical to maintaining stability in the West Bank,\u201d wrote the Senators. \u201cA significant source of the PA\u2019s revenue derives from Palestinian import tax revenues, which according to long-standing agreement, the Israeli government collects on behalf of, and then transfers to, the PA. We are concerned that the Israeli government\u2019s decision following the October 7 attacks to withhold a significant portion of these revenues, and the PA\u2019s decision to not accept the reduced sum, is dramatically exacerbating the economic volatility in the West Bank.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn addition to harming the well-being of Palestinians, the current lack of revenue transfers directly threatens the economic standing of the security services in the West Bank. Absent these funds, salaries for the more than 30,000 members of the Palestinian Security Forces cannot be paid in full. The possibility of these forces declining to serve, absent pay \u2013 and the possibility of militant groups attempting to step in and financially coerce these services \u2013 represents a significant security threat, risking the opening of a new front to this conflict to the detriment of Israeli and regional security,\u201d they continued. \u201cWe urge you and senior members of your Administration to continue to prioritize the resumption of these transfers in any conversations with the Israeli government as well as Palestinian Authority officials. A commitment by Israel to immediately transfer the full allotment of Palestinian Authority revenues is vital to staving off a significant rise in instability, and would represent a crucial step by Israel towards deescalating tensions in the West Bank.\u201d\n\nA copy of the letter is available here and below:\n\nDear President Biden,\n\nWe write with ongoing concern about the alarming conditions in the West Bank. As Israel continues to address the lethal and ongoing threat posed by Hamas following the terrorist group\u2019s horrific October 7 attacks, Israel must take steps to address growing instability in the West Bank. Israeli settlers\u2019 violence and deteriorating economic conditions are compromising the lives of innocent Palestinian civilians and threaten further destabilization. We are concerned that these conditions risk opening an additional front to the conflict, to the significant detriment of Israeli and regional security.\n\nMembers of Congress have joined you in voicing concerns about the alarming rise in violent acts perpetrated by extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank over the past two months. We believe the Israeli government must address these attacks against Palestinians, and we applaud your Administration\u2019s recent actions \u2013 including visa bans \u2013 targeting those carrying out these attacks.\n\nWe are also concerned about the conflict\u2019s economic impact in the West Bank, and the risk it poses for further violence. A range of factors since October 7 \u2013 including a loss of wages for the thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank whose work permits Israel revoked \u2013 have contributed to an economic situation that has shuttered thousands of West Bank businesses and reduced the Palestinian Authority\u2019s (PA) revenues by roughly 80 percent. Those revenues support a range of critical functions for the PA, including paying public-worker salaries as well as the salaries of members of the Palestinian Security Forces, whose local law enforcement and security efforts are critical to maintaining stability in the West Bank.\n\nA significant source of the PA\u2019s revenue derives from Palestinian import tax revenues, which according to long-standing agreement, the Israeli government collects on behalf of, and then transfers to, the PA. We are concerned that the Israeli government\u2019s decision following the October 7 attacks to withhold a significant portion of these revenues, and the PA\u2019s decision to not accept the reduced sum, is dramatically exacerbating the economic volatility in the West Bank.\n\nIn addition to harming the well-being of Palestinians, the current lack of revenue transfers directly threatens the economic standing of the security services in the West Bank. Absent these funds, salaries for the more than 30,000 members of the Palestinian Security Forces cannot be paid in full. The possibility of these forces declining to serve, absent pay \u2013 and the possibility of militant groups attempting to step in and financially coerce these services \u2013 represents a significant security threat, risking the opening of a new front to this conflict to the detriment of Israeli and regional security.\n\nWe acknowledge the need for a number of reforms related to PA governance, including those that would address corruption concerns, as well as its martyr and prisoner payment system. These reforms remain important, alongside supporting near-term stability and security.\n\nIn recent testimony before the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Secretary of State Blinken testified that the PA is \u201cvastly under resourced,\u201d and that import tax revenues have indeed been a topic of negotiation with the Israeli government. We urge you and senior members of your Administration to continue to prioritize the resumption of these transfers in any conversations with the Israeli government as well as Palestinian Authority officials. A commitment by Israel to immediately transfer the full allotment of Palestinian Authority revenues is vital to staving off a significant rise in instability, and would represent a crucial step by Israel towards deescalating tensions in the West Bank.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:56:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=F477A381-91DE-48A6-8275-990FED884AE8"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6969400458037853, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}