Israel to deduct over NIS 500m. from cash collected for PA

Israel will deduct more than half a billion shekels it collects in tariffs for the Palestinian Authority because of payments the PA makes to terrorists and their families, the security cabinet decided on Sunday.

According the Prime Minister’s Office, security officials told the cabinet that in 2018 the PA paid NIS 502,697,000 ($140m.) to terrorists imprisoned in Israeli jails, their families, and to security prisoners who have been released.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the security echelon to further investigate the scope of the payments, and to adjust the sums to be deducted accordingly.

On July 7, the Knesset passed legislation introduced by Avi Dichter (Likud) and Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid) requiring the Defense Ministry to inform the security cabinet of how much the PA pays in “welfare payments to terrorists and their families,” which will be deducted from the amount Israel transfers to the PA each month.

This legislation followed the passage of the Taylor Force Act in the US, which ended most US assistance to the Palestinians unless the PA stops payments to terrorists and their families, the so-called “pay-to-slay.”

The PA government said earlier this month that the taxes and tariffs collected by Israel belong to the Palestinian public.

“Any deduction from these revenues is nothing but a continuation of Israeli piracy against billions of dollars that Israel has stolen,” the PA said at the time. “This is also a clear and blatant violation of Israeli obligations in accordance with signed agreements, especially the Paris Economic Protocol.”

The PA also threatened earlier this month that if Israel deducts the funds, the PA will not accept any of the money Israel transfers to it under the terms of the Oslo Accords – more than $100 million a month.

Dichter responded to the security cabinet decision by saying “the party is over.” This move, he said, “will make it clear to the Palestinian Authority and to [PA President Mahmoud Abbas]: Paying salaries to murderers does not pay!”

The PA condemned the decision as an act of “piracy” and “collective punishment” against the Palestinians. PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah warned that the move would jeopardize the Palestinian economy and affect the PA’s ability to pay salaries to its employees on time. Hamdallah accused the Israeli government of waging an “open war against the Palestinian people and their leadership” as part of a plan to “destroy the Palestinian Authority.”

A PA official in Ramallah denounced the decision as an act of “thuggery” and “piracy” and said the Palestinians will not succumb to Israeli and US blackmail and will continue to provide financial aid to the security prisoners and the families of Palestinian “martyrs.”

Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.