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History

The Palestine Pound was the currency in use in Palestine until May 14, 1948.

Before the British occupation of Palestine in 1918, the Palestine area was part of the Ottoman Empire and the currency in use was the Ottoman lira. After the British occupation of Palestine, another currency which was widely circulated was the Egyptian Pound. The circulation of the Ottoman lira and the Egyptian pound created economic problems and it was decided to create the Palestine Pound which was equal to the British Pound Sterling in 1926.

The Palestine Pound that was introduced in the British occupied Palestine was different from other Pounds in that it was a decimal currency. Each pound was divided into a thousand parts, known as mils.

The Palestine Currency Board regulated the issuance of the Palestine Pound. In May 1948, the British occupation of Palestine ended effectively and the Currency Board was dissolved. The circulated quantity until May 14, 1948 of the Palestine Pound was 51,087,811.5.

It was not until June 1952 that the occupation government discontinued the circulation of the Palestine Pound after new banknotes were issued by the their bank.

Jordan replaced the Palestine Pound with the Jordanian dinar in 1949. In 1950, the Palestine Pound circulation was discontinued in West Bank. The Jordanian dinar and the shekel are legal tenders in the West Bank today. Inhabitants of the Gaza Strip also use the shekel and the Egyptian Pound today.

Palestine Authority cannot issue its own currency

Under the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangement, also known as the Oslo Accord, the Palestine Authority cannot issue its own currency, issue debt or carry out economic and financial services that are synonymous to an independent state. This has reduced the Palestine Authority to a mere local administration whose economic viability is reliant on the occupation government and on the currencies of Egypt, occupation government, and Jordan.

The Paris Protocol, which was signed in April 1994 led to the creation of the PMA (Palestine Monetary Authority) which would serve as an economic and financial advisory to the Palestine Authority. However, the Paris Protocol empowered the PMA function as a central bank and provides financial liquidity to the Palestine area which must be expressly subject to the approval of the occupation government. The PMA recognizes the occupation government Shekel as one of the legal tenders in occupied Palestine.

Today, transactions in occupied Palestine are carried out in the Shekels, while US dollars and the Jordanian Dinar are used for bulky and larger transactions. Credit cards, Visa, MasterCard, and American express are all accepted in banks, hotels and restaurants as well as with many ATMs. The Palestine economy is heavily reliant on the occupation government economy and the occupation controls the imports and exports as the Palestine Authority cannot directly earn duties on international trade except through occupation government.

The Palestinians want a free and truly independent state alongside their own currency. The question of a currency for Palestine has not been featured in the international communities and economists believe that it might take a long while before Palestine is ready for its own currency.

Free Palestine Campaign on paper notes

As part of agitations for independence, in month of March 2011, two men in city of Ramallah started a campaign on Facebook with a message for Palestinians to write “Free Palestine” on the Shekel paper notes to promote an independent Palestinian state.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Banking Society warned that banks could refuse the bills with a slogan written on them, and therefore Palestinian banks also would not accept the notes.

Why we're here

In a bid to create an independent Palestinian currency, a Palestinian digital currency is being planned. Palestine Pound will come back to life again as a cryptocurrency Network Services for Palestinians and their supporters. Due to the absence of an independent currency of the Palestinian state, the Palestine authorities have little control over money supply and inflation. It was conceived to circumvent the challenges Palestinians faces in receiving hard currencies and we believe that the digital currency will help the Palestinians achieve total economic freedom from the occupation government.

Palestine Pound will be launched soon. The Palestine Pound specifications: total pounds will be 51,087,812. Approximate to the historical amount circulated in the past, proof of work, not premined, etc.

The Palestine Pound will have the logo above: the text Palestine Pound , Dome of Rock (Symbol of Jerusalem - the capital of Palestine) and the hashtag #FreePalestine.

As creators of the digital currency, we will be willing to hand over the cryptocurrency to a united Palestinian Authority recognized and accepted by the Palestine people.

Warning

We the creators of the Palestine Pound sternly warn that Anti-Semitism is not something we accept or tolerate. We believe all religious or ethnic groups to be equal humans, including the Jewish people of Palestine.

Engage

Follow us on twitter:

https://twitter.com/palestinepound

Like us on Facebook

https://facebook.com/palestinepound

Join our channel on Telegram

https://t.me/palestinecoin or https://t.me/palestinepound

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