RAMALLAH, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian government on Sunday said it will pay the public service employees half of their salaries, for the second consecutive month amid current critical fiscal situation.

The Palestinian Finance Ministry explained in a press statement that those receiving approximately 500 U.S. dollars will get their full salaries, but others paid above this amount will receive only half.

The ministry said it will only be able to cover 50 percent of June's salary, which is slightly above the minimum wage in Palestine, or around 420 dollars.

It added that it will prioritize health workers, security personnel and teachers in the upcoming payments.

The Palestinian government continues to reject money transfers of its tax revenues from the Israeli government because the latter continues to cut off nearly 500 million dollars that the Palestinian Authority allocates to families of Palestinians killed or imprisoned by Israel.

Moreover, the Palestinian government's financial situation worsened as its local revenues declined significantly under the COVID-19 pandemic.

Palestinian Minister of Finance Shoukry Bishara said that the state budget has fallen down by nearly 80 percent after its decision not to accept money from Israel due to its partial deduction, the Palestinian decision to cut off all ties with Israel and the economic impact of the lockdown due to the coronavirus situation.

According to official data, the tax revenues collected by Israel represent nearly 60 percent of the Palestinian government's budget.

Israel collects taxes on behalf of the Palestinians from trade that comes into the Palestinian territories through Israeli controlled border crossings. Enditem

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