PA accepts Israeli money despite anti-'Pay-for-Slay' law
Israel's anti-"Pay-for-Slay" law says the state must deduct the amount of money that the PA pays terrorists and families of what they call "martyrs" from the tax revenue that Israel gives the PA.
By RACHEL WOLFPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S.(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Palestinian Authority Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas agreed to accept the majority of Israeli tax revenue that Israel collected and transferred to the PA, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reported on Sunday. Abbas initially refused to accept the payments because of Israel's anti-"Pay-for-Slay" law.Israel's cabinet enforced part of the 2018 anti-"Pay-for-Slay" law and deducted the sum that the PA paid terrorist prisoners and released prisoners in 2018 from the amount of tax revenue that the PA would receive from Israel.Abbas argued against Israel's law, arguing that paying Palestinian terrorists is a legitimate practice, according to PMW. He then refused aid from Israel, causing the PA to go into a self-made financial crisis."When he made that decision, Palestinian Media Watch speculated that Abbas was probably planning to use the ensuing impoverishment of the Palestinian population as a tactic to put pressure on Israel to transfer to him the money he uses to reward terror," PMW wrote. "PMW also suggested that he was using the decision as a means to leverage the international community to put pressure on Israel to ignore its own laws. Abbas was also hoping that the international community would again side with the PA against Israel and further subsidize the PA."The PA cut salaries of law-abiding employees by 40-50%, but did not do the same for terrorists, according to PMW. Furthermore, the PA is no longer allowing Palestinians to receive medical treatment in Israel and falsely claimed that Israel was deducting $100 a year from this service. However, senior Fatah members were still permitted to receive treatment in Israel."Abbas' decision to accept the tax revenues, even though Israel continues to implement its anti-"Pay-for-Slay" law, reflects an understanding that all these goals have failed," PMW said.Since February, Israel has deducted 41.8 million shekels from the monthly tax revenues it sends to the PA, which is one twelfth of the 502 million shekels that PMW reported the PA gave to terrorist prisoners and released prisoners in 2018.The PA has agreed to accept another 1.5 billion shekels this week, according to PMW.Israel's anti-"Pay-for-Slay" law, which was passed in 2018, says that the state must deduct and freeze the amount of money that they PA pays terrorists and families of what they call "martyrs" from the tax revenue that Israel gives the PA.The Israeli government has the option of giving the PA the frozen funds if the PA stops making these payments for a year.
