Cash Deposit Crisis Leads to Announcement of Gas Station Closure

Al-Khalil - Ma'an - In light of the escalating cash deposit crisis in banks operating in the Palestinian territories, and the lack of a solution, the Syndicate of Gas Stations in Palestine decided to close the doors of its stations next Sunday. The announcement by the Fuel Stations Syndicate that it will stop providing fuel sales services to citizens may extend to other sectors suffering from the same problem, including the food sector, and even major companies that deal directly with consumers. Nizar al-Jabari explained in an interview with Ma'an's correspondent in Hebron that this decision came during an expanded meeting held today in the hall of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Hebron Governorate, where all members of the union unanimously announced the closure of the doors of our stations starting next Sunday. Al-Jabri said: 'We are no longer able to meet the citizens' needs for fuel in light of the many conditions imposed by the banks and their refusal to accept cash deposits without conditions . We are no longer able to deposit money in the Ministry of Finance's account to purchase fuel from the General Authority for Fuels, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Finance.' Al-Jabri continued in his speech: 'This crisis has been ongoing for two years, and our correspondence, communications, and reviews with the relevant authorities in the Ministry of Finance and the Monetary Authority have not found any response. We buy from the Ministry of Finance, and it must intervene, and the Monetary Authority must find radical solutions to this problem.' According to unofficial estimates, the shekel surplus exceeds 22 billion shekels annually, piled up in bank vaults. The Monetary Authority confirmed, in a previous press release, the news of the accumulation of paper currency in bank vaults exceeding their capacity. The Monetary Authority also stressed that placing restrictions on any deposit operation that meets the compliance requirements is considered unacceptable behaviour that should be reversed with out delay. Despite these warnings from the Monetary Authority, banks are still imposing conditions on cash deposits in shekels, which prompted the Gas Stations Syndicate to announce that it will stop selling fuel starting next Sunday. Source: Maan News Agency