Palestinians to set currency this year

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestine Monetary Authority will in the coming months set the framework for issuing a new currency, a Palestinian Authority official said Saturday.

“This year will be one of deciding on the monetary regime for the Palestinian state,” Ramallah Gov. Jihad Al-Wazir told Bloomberg news.

Before the Palestine Pound can be issued, a fully independent central bank must be established and the financial system needs to be strong enough to maintain its own currency, Al-Wazir was quoted as saying.

“Dollarisation is one option, as well as a fixed-exchange peg or an exchange-control regime,” he said.

“From a pure economic perspective if you ask us, considering the structure of trade, a peg to the shekel is the most obvious choice, but that is a political issue,” he noted, according to the report.

“We want to make sure, and I am confident we will, that once we cross the line into statehood the Palestinian economy and institutions that have been developed will be able to insure that this will be a robust economy.”

The Palestine Pound has not been used since 1948, the year Israel was established.