Far-right Israeli minister confiscates $29m in raid on Palestinian funds

Finance chief is notorious religious bigot with long record of hate speech

Israel’s new far-right extremist finance minister on Thursday confiscated $29 million in funds collected in taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

Bezalel Smotrich said the cash would be used to compensate the families of Israelis killed and injured in Palestinian attacks. However, the amount is double the usual $14.7 million confiscated each month, and on Jan. 8, Smotrich ordered the seizure of $40.5 million from Palestinian funds as part of a package of financial sanctions. Many Palestinians believe the minister, a notorious religious bigot with a long record of hate speech, is operating a personal anti-Palestinian agenda.

Smotrich is an illegal settler who opposes Palestinian statehood, and once told Arab members of the Knesset it was “a mistake that BenGurion didn’t finish the job and throw you out in 1948.”

“This is a deliberate attempt to weaken and undermine the Palestinian Authority,” a senior PA economic official told Arab News. “Considering the rise in prices and the increase in financial obligations for public sector employees, the additional deductions will make the PA unable to even pay 80 percent of the monthly salary to its employees, which will weaken the security establishment and push people to support violence against Israel.”

The official said the PA had exceeded its borrowing limit with Palestinian banks, and any attempt to borrow more could cause a shock to the Palestinian banking sector. Ahmed Majdalani, Palestinian social development minister, told Arab News that the additional Israeli cuts would impact the private sector as well as the Palestinian government’s ability to pay salaries and provide welfare for impoverished Palestinian families.

“Israel is pushing the PA to the brink of inability to fulfill its obligations, which aggravates the Palestinian situation and weakens PA institutions, including the security services,” he said.

‘Israel is pushing the PA to the brink of inability to fulfill its obligations, which aggravates the Palestinian situation and weakens PA institutions, including the security services.’