Middle East Monitor / May 9, 2020
Angry Palestinians threw Molotov cocktails and opened fire at branches of Cairo Amman Banks in Jericho and Jenin after the bank accounts of prisoners inside Israeli jails were closed, Quds Press reported on Friday.
Several Palestinian groups and factions condemned the closures of the accounts of the prisoners and declared that: “Banks must be partners in losses as they are partners in gains.”
Palestinian groups concerned with the matter issued a joint statement stating: “We stress that the Israeli occupation authorities have been using the issue of taking care of the families of the prisoners and martyrs as a tool to impose its dictations.”
The groups claim that Israel, through imposing its dictations, is trying to reiterate its false claims related to the Palestinian people, prisoners, and leadership.
According to the groups: “Israel wants to achieve two goals through such a step: stigmatising the Palestinian resistance as a form of terror, and reinforce its sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian lands.”
At the same time, the groups called for the Palestinian banks to follow the guidelines of the Palestinian Authority, and not the Israeli military rulers.
The Palestinian Monetary Authority condemned the Israeli orders, as well as the Palestinian attacks on the banks.
A statement, a copy of which was sent to MEMO, confirmed that it would work with the banks in order to avoid the negative consequences of closing the accounts, and affirmed that it would do its best to make sure that the Palestinian banks would follow Palestinian guidelines, and not Israeli’s.
