The Ministerial Legislation Committee is expected to postpone on Sunday the vote on a bill to stop the payment of salaries to security prisoners, Walla reported. The proposed “Cessation of Salary Payments to Terrorists Act” was submitted by opposition MK Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid) and endorsed by MKs from all the coalition factions.
The bill deducts from the funds that are transferred to the Palestinian Authority an amount equal to the salaries being paid out by the PA to terrorists and their families, based on a report by the Defense Ministry at the end of each fiscal year.
Israel collects customs on behalf of the PA on funds from import and export goods and taxes the salaries of PA residents earned in Israel.
According to a political source close to the legislation, the postponement—by one week—stems from the fact that the legal preparation of the law has not yet been completed, and the resistance of the defense establishment which has yet to submit an opinion regarding the bill. Traditionally, security officials have objected to usurping funds that are being transferred to the Palestinian Authority, fearing this would further undermine the status of Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and may result in extremism, violence, and even the collapse of the Palestinian Authority.
However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several coalition parties have declared on more than one occasion that the payments the Palestinian Authority transfers to terrorists and their families must be stopped. President Trump reportedly reiterated the same point during his visit to Ramallah last month.
Last month, Netanyahu stated, “They pay, on an annual basis, hundreds of millions of dollars to terrorists who murdered Israelis and Americans. This decade can this amount might cross the billion dollar threshold, and I’m not talking about Hamas, I’m talking about the Palestinian Authority headed by Mahmoud Abbas. The first test for peace is to say to them: ‘You want peace, prove it, confront terror, stop rewarding terrorists.'”
The new Knesset law would parallel the US Congress’ proposed Taylor Force Act, which would cut off US aid unless the Palestinian Authority stops its payments to terrorists. Taylor Force, 28, was a West Point graduate who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, who was knifed to death by an Arab terrorist on March 8, 2016, while walking along the Mediterranean boardwalk promenade with friends in Tel Aviv.