The Palestinians are planning to abandon the Israeli shekel in favor of their own currency, the Palestinian pound, "The Washington Post" reports today, quoting Jihad al-Wazir, who is effectively the Palestinian Authority's central banker.
Although the Palestinian Authority does not have a central bank, al-Wazir supervises local banks, fights money laundering, and has set up mechanisms to spot bounced checks. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is trying to carry out structural reforms of government institutions, professionalize the police force, and establish bodies such as a statistics bureau.
"The Washington Post" says that al-Wazir is working on creating Palestinian economic independence. He told the paper, "All options are open, as far as we're concerned - issuing our own currency is one."
"The Washington Post" quotes an Israeli official as saying, "Their economy is too small. It will need something to sustain the currency. Currency is not like a stamp or an international dialing code, which they have. . . . But to have a currency of your own, it's a whole other ballgame. They don't have what it takes.'"
Meanwhile, "The Washington Post" says that a committee is quietly examining what images to put on a new Palestine pound. Yasser Arafat is a possibility, Wazir acknowledged, along with scientists, poets and artists.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 30, 2010
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