Report: Ramallah continues to allocate chunk of cash-strapped budget to terrorists
A new report by Palestinian Media Watch, a watchdog group that documents incitement in the Palestinian Authority, revealed that in 2020, the P.A. allocated 512 million shekels ($156 million), or 3.25 percent of its budget, to its “pay for slay” program.
A rally marking Palestinian Prisoners Day in the West Bank city of Nablus on April 17, 2019. Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90.
As was the case in 2019, PMW legal expert Lt. Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch told Israel Hayom: “This year, too, Israel’s] Diplomatic-Security Cabinet is procrastinating on implementing the law on terrorists’ salaries.”
Hirsch was referring to a law stating that the Israeli government is supposed to withhold from the P.A. the same amount of taxes that it collects on Ramallah’s behalf as the P.A. allocates to salaries for Palestinian terrorists and their families.
“It’s time to put an end to terrorist payments,” Hirsch said.
PMW director Itamar Marcus said, “The fact that international donors are willing to give the P.A. hundreds of millions of euros a year, while it continues to incentivize and fund murderers, is a key factor in why Palestinian terrorism continues to thrive.”
In spite of its faltering economy, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas has vowed to keep paying salaries to terrorists.
By Ariel Kahana and JNS staff
(Israel Hayom via JNS)
