Israel transfers billions to Ramallah, does not deduct for ‘terror’ stipends
Palestinian security forces in Nablus
Aaron Boxerman reports in The Times of Israel:
Israel transferred NIS 3.7 billion ($1.12 billion) in tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to Ramallah on Wednesday, without deducting the cost of stipends the PA pays out to Palestinians wounded or jailed by Israel for security offenses and the families of those killed, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.
“The Israeli government is transferring all financial dues regarding the tax revenues to the account of the Palestinian Authority, amounting to 3.768 billion shekels,” senior PA official Hussein al-Sheikh wrote on Twitter.
Ramallah has a longstanding policy of compensating Palestinians jailed by Israel for security offenses, as well as those wounded or killed by Israeli forces — including those killed while committing violent terror attacks.
Israel has long sought to clamp down on the practice, which it says encourages terror. A 2018 law requires the government to deduct the estimated cost of the stipends from monthly tax revenues that Israel transfers to the Palestinian Authority. The legislation states that the funds withheld are to be used to support victims of terror attacks.
Under the 1994 Paris Economic Protocol, Israel collects over $100 million in taxes on imports and exports and transfers them to Ramallah on a monthly basis. The revenues constituted over 60 percent of Ramallah’s 2019 budget.