The Palestine Monetary Authority reported that Governor Yahya Shunnar participated in the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions and Islamic Development Bank 20th Annual Islamic Banking and Finance Conference in Bahrain, focused on “Islamic Finance in the Era of Artificial Intelligence”. In his opening remarks, he framed artificial intelligence as both an opportunity and a challenge for Islamic financial institutions, pointing to potential gains in efficiency and financial inclusion while reiterating the importance of Islamic finance principles such as real-economy financing, risk-sharing and avoidance of unproductive speculation. He also highlighted the role of Islamic banks and financial institutions in Palestine in supporting the national economy and financing small and medium-sized enterprises despite domestic challenges, and underscored humanitarian, relief and reconstruction needs in the Gaza Strip following the recent conflict. Shunnar called for adoption of innovative technological solutions to improve efficiency, transparency and cost-effectiveness, and urged Shariah supervisory boards to become active partners in digital transformation through closer collaboration with developers and technology experts to support Shariah-compliant digital financial products. Chairing a session on Shariah-compliant financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, he cited International Finance Corporation figures that MSMEs account for over 90% of businesses worldwide and around 70% of employment, and said SMEs represent about 98.6% of the Palestinian economy and employ more than 80% of the workforce. He pointed to the USD 430 million “Istidama” Fund and updated regulatory instructions intended to encourage Islamic banks to finance productive sectors including agriculture, food industries and renewable energy, and advocated diversifying Islamic finance instruments including crowdfunding and individual financing.

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