Israel weighs revising economic pact if Palestinians restart peace talks

DEBKAfile: Israel leaders may positively consider the Palestinian request to revise the 1994 Paris Protocol governing economic ties between Israel and the Palestinians if this process is incorporated in the resumption of the stalled peace negotiations. The Paris Protocol was part of the Oslo Peace Framework Accords signed a year earlier.

Over the last week, thousands of Palestinians have taken to the streets to protest the soaring cost of living, rising petrol prices and unemployment. The Palestinian Authority is deep in debt and unable to pay last month’s wages to 153,000 government employees. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas seeks to improve the Paris Protocol deal to find extra revenue.