Informed sources told Amman Net details of Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa's visit to Amman, stating that the trip aims to address several economic issues, most notably the halt of goods transfers from Jordan to the West Bank following the Karama Crossing incident in September last year, carried out by a Jordanian citizen, which resulted in the deaths of two Israeli soldiers and the temporary closure of the crossing.

The sources indicated that Israel intends to modify the goods transfer protocol from Jordan to the West Bank, potentially including the replacement of Jordanian drivers at a buffer zone with Palestinian drivers who would take over the trucks.

Mustafa also discussed with Jordanian officials the facilitation of using the Jordanian dinar to overcome the accumulation of cash-particularly Israeli banknotes-in the Palestinian market, while encouraging the shift toward electronic payment methods that serve both individuals and institutions.

The sources highlighted that both economic and banking sectors are facing a crisis of“excessive Israeli shekels” in banks, reaching approximately 15 billion shekels, amid an economic squeeze imposed by Israel's right-wing government against the Palestinian people, their government, and institutions.

The Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA) announced in a statement on May 29, 2025, that it could no longer accept additional deposits in Israeli shekels after exceeding the allowed limit. This decision led Palestinian banks to refuse further shekel deposits and issue internal instructions setting a monthly deposit cap of 5,000 to 7,000 shekels (with the dollar roughly equal to 3.5 shekels), compared to the previous daily deposit ceiling exceeding 20,000 shekels. The move caused concern and confusion among Palestinian citizens, who had to convert part of their funds into other currencies such as the U.S. dollar and the Jordanian dinar to deposit them in banks that had excess shekels and were no longer accepting them.

Sources revealed that PMA Chairman Yehia Shenar will visit Jordan on Thursday to discuss having Jordanian banks act as intermediaries for Palestinian banks and financial transactions instead of Israeli banks.

To clarify further, the Paris Protocol serves as the legal framework regulating economic relations between Israel and the Palestinians. The 1994 agreement explicitly stipulates in Article 19 the creation of a Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA) with the powers and responsibilities to oversee the banking sector, ensure financial stability, and regulate all banking activities, including foreign operations. Under this protocol, any Palestinian bank can conduct banking transactions through an intermediary bank in any country, including banks within Israel, while safeguarding its clients' interests.

The meeting also explored ways to enhance economic cooperation between the two sides, particularly in trade, industry, agriculture, and energy, with the Jordanian Prime Minister affirming Jordan's support for the Palestinian people and their economic empowerment. In this context, both sides agreed on the importance of forming joint ministerial committees, organizing business forums to promote cooperation and partnerships, strengthening the role of the Jordanian-Palestinian Company in marketing agricultural products, removing obstacles to facilitate the movement of passengers and goods at border crossings, and assisting Palestinians in the fields of information technology, digitalization, and e-commerce legislation.

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