US: Why should we fund PA hospitals, when Abbas diverts money to pay terrorists?

Augusta Victoria Hospital, East Jerusalem

Eric Cortellessa writes in Times of Israel, “The Trump administration on Thursday said that Palestinian plans to pay the family of a terrorist who killed an American-Israeli last week showed why the US was correct in cutting funding for East Jerusalem hospitals. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said there was no reason for the US to fund the hospitals when it merely allowed the PA to free up money to support terrorists and their families. ‘The United States government does not believe that it is responsible for paying for the hospital bills,’ Nauert told reporters. ‘The Palestinian Authority is solely responsible for paying for the treatment of Palestinians in those hospitals. Historically, they have neglected to pay the bills at their hospital. Our funding in the past has generously shored them up. The PA,’ she went on to say, has ‘failed to prioritize paying its debts and has instead put money into funding these payments to the families of terrorists.””

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert

“The comments came after The Times of Israel reported Wednesday that the family of Khalil Jabarin, the 17-year-old terrorist who stabbed Imerican-born Israel Ari Fuld to death on Sunday, would be eligible for a monthly salary from the PA once the correct paperwork had been completed. …Speaking to The Times of Israel, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority Prisoner Affairs’ Commission had earlier denied an Israeli TV report that the PA had already sent a multi-thousand shekel advance to the Jabarin family, but made clear that such regular monthly payments would ultimately be made. ‘We are not bashful or secretive about our support for our prisoners,’ said the spokesman, Hassan Abd Rabbod. ‘The [Jabarin] family would be eligible to receive a monthly salary of NIS 1,400 ($390), if their son is not freed by Israel and it completes all the necessary documents.'”…

“The White House has indicated those funds will remain withheld until the Palestinians re-engage with the administration to broker a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace deal….Palestinian prisoners serving 20- to 30-year sentences for carrying out terror attacks are eligible for a lifetime NIS 10,000 ($2,772) monthly stipend, the Defense Ministry said, citing PA figures. Those prisoners who receive a three- to five-year sentence get a monthly wage of NIS 2,000 ($554). Palestinian prisoners who are married, have children, live in Jerusalem, or hold Israeli citizenship receive additional payments.” (more…)