(Communicated by the COGAT Spokesperson)
The spokesman for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced that the Minister of Defense of the State of Israel approved the Israeli suggestion for the mechanism of transfer of National Insurance Institute (NII) benefits and pension payments to beneficiaries in the Gaza Strip, as a humanitarian gesture.
This mechanism is a result of joint Israeli-Palestinian staff work conducted over the past few months, led by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and in collaboration with representatives of the Israeli Ministries of Justice and Finance, the Money Laundering Prohibition Authority, the National Insurance Institute of Israel, the Bank of Israel and security officials.
The mechanism will solve the difficulties in transferring National Insurance benefits and pension payments to residents in the Gaza Strip that arose after Hamas, a terrorist organization, took control of the Gaza Strip and turned it into a hostile territory, resulting in the severing of ties between Israeli banks and Palestinian banks in Gaza.
The National Insurance benefits and pension payments, which are estimated at approximately NIS 2 million a month, will be transferred to the Palestinian Authority according to a list of about 1,000 beneficiaries. The money will be deposited in banks in Ramallah that will transfer it to banks in the Gaza Strip.
On Thursday, the updated Israeli proposal was submitted to the Palestinian Authority, and the preparations for implementing the money transfer mechanism will begin upon receipt of their final approval.