DayofPal-Two major Israeli banks have announced plans to sever vital financial links with Palestinian banks, threatening to plunge the Palestinian economy into deeper crisis and accelerating Israel’s de facto annexation of the West Bank.
Bank Hapoalim and Bank Discount informed Palestinian financial institutions of their intention to cut correspondent banking services, the critical lifeline connecting the Palestinian and Israeli economies.
Five Palestinian banks relying on Hapoalim will lose access on 13 August, while those using Discount Bank face isolation by 1 September.
This financial siege, framed by the Israeli finance ministry as a response to “public risks and lawsuits,” is widely viewed by Palestinian officials and economists as a politically motivated act of economic warfare.
It directly targets the Palestinian Authority’s ability to function and aims to further isolate and subdue the Palestinian people.
The consequences are expected to be devastating as the move threatens to disrupt salary payments for tens of thousands of public sector workers, halt trade in shekels (the main currency used in the occupied territories), paralyze imports of essential goods such as food, fuel, and medicine, and worsen the chronic shortage of shekel liquidity in Palestinian banks.
Economic expert Nasr Abdel Karim described the decision as part of a four-year systematic Israeli policy designed to “subdue Palestinians” through every available means.
He noted that the banks’ move aligns with the expansionist agenda pushed by far-right Israeli ministers, particularly Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Political analyst Mohammed Al-Qeeq went further, stating that Israel is deliberately working to dismantle the Palestinian Authority by severing all ties and replacing it with direct dealings with private companies.
This, he explained, is a clear step toward formalizing the annexation of the West Bank, and reducing Palestinians to temporary residents with no sovereign economic future.
By weaponizing the banking system, the Israeli occupation is not only aiming to create financial collapse but also to deepen dependency, increase poverty, and force submission.
This latest escalation comes amid relentless settler violence, land theft, and daily violations across the West Bank, forming part of a comprehensive strategy to make Palestinian life unsustainable.
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