Norwegian newspaper reports on PMW’s report on PA donor fraud
Norwegian newspaper reports
on PMW’s report on PA donor fraud
on PMW’s report on PA donor fraud
PMW's new report "The PA's Billion Dollar Fraud" was presented to officials of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and Members of Parliament. The report exposes that the Palestinian Authority continues to pay salaries to terrorist prisoners, contrary to its claim to donor countries to have stopped funding these salaries already in 2014. The report sparked a debate among three Norwegian political parties - all from the coalition - about whether to continue funding the PA. It also led to a debate in parliament with the Foreign Minister.
The following article was translated from Norwegian by PMW.
Headline: “Palestine continues "salaries" to terror convicted [prisoners]”
“The Middle East
The Palestinian authorities are still paying money to Palestinian prisoners convicted of terror against Israel, according to a new [Palestinian Media Watch] report. The Progress Party now wants to cut the aid.
This (i.e., the PA’s salary payments) happens despite [the PA’s] promises to the donor countries [they would] stop the payments, NRK TV reported.
The Palestinian Authority is behind monthly payments for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including a number of people who are convicted of terror attacks against Israel, the organization Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) writes in a new report.
Norway and several other donor countries have demanded that the program be stopped and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to this in 2014. Nevertheless, the payments have continued, according to the report from PMW.
[Norway’s] Foreign Ministry states that Norway has protested against the program, most recently this week [April 25, 2016]. Nevertheless, it is not necessary to cut Norwegian aid, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The Progress Party disagrees.
‘This has to have consequences in terms of cutting the aid money,’ says the Progress Party's spokesperson on foreign aid, Jørund H. Rytman.”