The Israeli government has agreed to lend some $280 million to the Palestinian Authority for the purpose of fighting the coronavirus. Palestinian officials made the rather unusual request because of a lack of revenue caused in significant part by the pandemic. The funds will be given in the form of a loan and subsequently repaid by deducting it from the tax and tariff money Israel collects monthly for the PA as part of the Oslo Accords. During the course of the pandemic, there has been unusual cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians. A large amount of medical equipment has been sent by Israel to Ramallah and training sessions have been held to teach Palestinian medical personnel how to stay safe as they treat coronavirus victims. The United States has given an emergency gift of $5 million to the PA as a humanitarian gesture despite having officially cut it off because it pays stipends to families of those who commit acts of terror. For its part, Israel deducts the amounts of the stipends from the funds collected on behalf of the PA. Despite its decision to provide assistance to the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, Israel has deferred requests by international humanitarian organizations to provide assistance to the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip, insisting that the PA is the address for those concerns.
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