The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday returned the full amount of tax funds transferred to its coffers by Israel, approximately half a billion shekels.
PA leader Mahmoud Abbas told reporters it was decided to reject the entire amount in response to Israel’s decision to deduct the amount of funds paid to the families of “martyrs” – terrorists who died while trying to murder Jews and others in Israel.
“I have a message for (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu,” a senior PA official told i24TV news on Wednesday. “The PA will continue paying the prisoners and the families of the martyrs, and Israel has no right to demand a halt to this.”
The decision came in the wake of the first reduction by Israel of the total sum paid by the Ramallah government to the Palestinian Authority terrorists incarcerated in Israeli prisons, and the families of the so-called “martyrs.” The cut amounted to approximately $138 million.
Israel’s “Deduction Law” was passed last year, but was not actually implemented until this month.
The law requires Israel’s Defense Minister to submit an annual report to the Security Cabinet detailing the total amount of funds paid to terrorists and their families by the PA government each year. Israel’s government is then mandated by the law to deduct that amount from the taxes and other fees collected by the Jewish State on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, prior to transferring the funds to the Ramallah government.