Israel's freeze of prisoner family money piracy: PLO official

Rasa - A high ranking Palestinian official says Israel’s move to freeze money transfers to the Palestinian Authority is nothing less than piracy.

News ID: 438530

Date: 04 July 2018 - 22:56

RNA - On Tuesday, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Saeb Erekat condemned the move, stressing that it endangered the existence of the Palestinian Authority.

"This is a very dangerous decision that amounts to the cancellation of the Palestinian Authority and is piracy and theft," he said.

"Israel is stealing the land and money of the Palestinian people and that is a result of the decisions of President (Donald) Trump, who supports Israel," he added.

The bill, which was passed by 87 to 15 on Monday, will authorize the Tel Aviv regime to deduct those payments from the taxes Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA) under bilateral agreements.

Avi Dichter, chairman of Israel’s foreign affairs and military committee and the former head of the Shin Bet intelligence agency, said the PA spends seven percent of its budget, estimated at 1.1 billion shekels ($300 million) to aid Palestinian prisoners and pay stipends to the families of those killed or wounded by the Israeli military.

The stipends benefit roughly 35,000 families of Palestinians killed and wounded in conflict with Israel.

Israeli Minister of Military Affairs Avigdor Lieberman hailed the new law, claiming that, "Every shekel (president) Mahmud Abbas will pay for terrorists and assassins will be automatically withdrawn from the Palestinian Authority's budget."

"An effective war on terrorism also passes through the pocket -- of the terrorists, of their families and of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas," he added.

Tel Aviv regime planning 1,000 new settlements

Meanwhile, Palestinian media reports that Israel’s Planning and Building Committee has put forward plans for six new settlements.

The plans include the construction of 1,000 housing units which will be added to Pisgat Zeev settlement located to the east of Jerusalem al-Quds.

According to Press TV, Israel occupied the West Bank and East al-Quds during the Six Day War in 1967. It later annexed East al-Quds in a move not recognized by the international community.

Now, about 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built illegally since the occupation.

The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian lands have created a major obstacle for the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.

The Palestinian Authority wants the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinians state, with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.

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