Israeli lawmakers overwhelmingly approved legislation late on Monday that withholds tax transfers to the Palestinian Authority to offset salaries paid by Ramallah to terrorists or their families.
The bill, which passed 87-15, aims at putting to an end Palestinian Authority practices dubbed “pay to slay,” which provide salaries to Palestinian and Israeli Arabs who attack Jews, with varying amounts given according to crime and sentence, as well as additional funds given to Israeli Arabs.
“The P.A. turned itself into a factory that employs murderers Jews mostly but also Muslims, Christians, Druze, Circassians and others, including tourists,” said Knesset member Avi Dichter of the Likud Party, who was one of the bill’s co-sponsors.
Each year, Israel transfers NIS 8.5 billion (more than $2.4 billion) in tax payments. The P.A. budget this year is NIS 18.5 billion ($5.2 billion). The P.A. has dedicated a significant portion of its budget to directly incentivize the murder of Jews through stipends to terrorists and their families.
In its 2018 budget, the P.A. allocated $360 million for the Prisoners and Martyrs fund, which disperses payment to imprisoned terrorists, released terrorists and the families of dead terrorists. Continue Reading….