Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said today that Palestine will present the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) of donor countries meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, in Brussels to discuss aid to Palestine a progress report on the situation in Palestine, the reform plan, and the Palestinian economy.

Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Ramallah, Shtayyeh explained that the Palestinian economic growth rate last year was 3.9% but that it will be slower this year because of a rise in Israeli punitive measures, and the unemployment rate has declined from 19% since his government took over to about 12% in the West Bank, but remained high in the Gaza Strip.

He said while local and clearance revenues increased by 19% with stability in public expenditure, the salary bill increased.

Shtayyeh said the general budget suffers from a deficit, expressing hope that the donors would help bridge the financing gap to address the deficit, noting that the Israeli cuts from the clearance funds and the decline in donor funds are still the main reasons behind the deficit.

He stressed that the government will continue to work on implementing its reform program presented to the donors, which talks about reforming the salary bill, medical referrals, dealing with debts incurred by the water and electricity sectors, municipal issues, local governance, and other matters related to civil service law and others.

Source: Palestine News & Information Agency