GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Palestinian Authority (PA) announced Nov. 1 that it had officially taken over crossings into and out of the Gaza Strip within the framework of implementing the reconciliation agreement signed between Fatah and Hamas on Oct. 12 in Cairo. On the same day, Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh said in a press statement, “The consensus government has decided to cancel illegal taxes in Gaza, and the government will collect only the taxes imposed by Palestinian law.” By “illegal taxes,” Sheikh meant those that Hamas had imposed on goods entering Gaza when it controlled the territory.
Residents in the Gaza Strip have been subjected to double taxation since 2014: taxes on imported goods levied by the PA before they cross into Gaza plus taxes imposed by the Hamas government on the goods. After the failure to sign a reconciliation agreement with Fatah in 2014, Hamas imposed new fees on imported goods, services and public shareholding companies in the guise of a National Solidarity Tax, in a bid to cover the budget deficit resulting from the PA’s refusal to cover government expenses and ongoing international economic pressure. Goods coming through the smuggling tunnels from Egypt were also subject to Hamas-imposed taxes.
