The PMA Governor, Mr. Yahya Shunnar, cautioned participants that ongoing Israeli restrictions risk severing correspondent banking relationships and pushing the Palestinian economy into outright failure, endangering food supplies and basic public services.

The session, titled "The Breaking Point: Sounding the Alarm Before the Collapse," included addresses from Central Bank of Jordan Governor Dr. Adel Al Sharkas, Arab Monetary Fund Director General Dr. Fahad Al Turki via video link, IMF Resident Representative Mr. Tobias Roy, UNSCO Senior Adviser Mr. Hansjoerg Strohmeyer, and Association of Banks in Palestine Chairman H.E. Mr. Maher Al-Masri.

Governor Shunnar appealed for swift international steps to safeguard these vital banking channels, which serve as Palestine's sole conduit for global trade under the Paris Economic Protocol, and to establish dependable long-term mechanisms that keep commerce flowing with Israel and beyond.

He emphasized that any break in these ties would extend well past banking circles, quickly fueling a broader economic and humanitarian emergency marked by disrupted supply lines, fuel and food shortages, higher costs, job losses, and deeper poverty, all while Israel's withholding of clearance revenues worsens the fiscal strain on the Palestinian government.

Shunnar highlighted that 90 percent of Palestinian exports head to Israel and all imports arrive from or via Israel, with roughly 60 percent moving directly through those routes. Israeli correspondent banks handled about NIS 51 billion in activity during 2025, illustrating the channels' central role in daily economic life.

He further noted that nearly NIS 18 billion, equivalent to roughly USD 6 billion, remains locked in bank vaults, severely limiting the sector's flexibility.

Attendees agreed that time for decisive steps is shrinking fast and that only prompt, joint efforts can secure stable connections between the Palestinian banking system and worldwide finance.

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SOURCE PMA