17 Second: The repercussions of Israeli violations on the ability of Palestinian institutions to fulfill their obligations The violations and policies of the Israeli occupation affected the performance and interventions of some Palestinian ministries and official institutions in implementing rights, and the vital sectors specialized in guaranteeing rights and providing various basic services to Palestinian citizens: 1. Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission The occupation authorities obstructed the work and performance of the commission’s lawyers charged with defending and counselling prisoners in light of the spread of the “Corona” pandemic, the continued declaration of a state of emergency and lockdown by those authorities, which led to the prevention of lawyers from visiting prisoners in interrogation and detention centers. It also continued to impose exorbitant financial fines against the prisoners and their families, to make their case a permanent source of income. On the other hand, in February, the Israeli military governor of the West Bank issued a military order targeting the prisoners’ families’ allowances in banks. In accordance with the decision, the judge will prosecute and punish all persons and institutions, including Palestinian banks, who cooperate in the transfer of money to the prisoners and their families, as “rewards for committing terrorist attacks.” and the violator will be liable to a sentence of up to seven years in prison. Accordingly, the prohibited funds were subject to confiscation. 2. National economy The tax clearance crisis negatively affected the ability of the Palestinian government to pay the salaries of its employees, and meet the large financial obligations resulting from the Corona pandemic, forcing it to resort to borrowing from local banks. The year 2020 witnessed a remarkable increase in the public debt of the Palestinian government, reaching nearly 3.5 billion US dollars by the end of October 2020, and this debt increased by (25%) during the first ten months of 2020 compared to the end of 2019. The most prominent obstacles and challenges that the Palestinian national economy faced included11: the continued Israeli control over the Palestinian economic resources, closure and destruction of economic facilities and the assault on the economic structure, impeding the flow of goods between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The tightening of the siege prevented the entry of goods in general and production materials, in particular to the Gaza Strip. This led to huge 11 Correspondence to ICHR from the Ministry of National Economy on January 14 ,2020. Executive Summary 2020