EU playing key role in funding PA's terrorist prisoners
The EU has announced it will help pay the PA's public employees whose salaries the PA cut in order to pay terrorists
1. February: The PA cut salaries of public employees by 50% to maintain full salaries to terrorist prisoners
2. May: The EU pays the salaries of the PA's public employees - enabling the PA to continue paying salaries to terrorists
The result: New PA - EU partnership:
EU pays salaries to public employees - PA has money to pay salaries to terrorists
EU's actions contradict recent EU statement:
"We do not support the system of Palestinian payments to 'prisoners and martyrs'"
The EU has decided to help the PA and its leader Mahmoud Abbas to continue paying salaries to terrorists by pledging to give the PA 15 million euros to cover salaries for public employees - salaries Abbas has cut in order to keep up the PA's financial rewards to terrorists. Abbas has declared that the PA is "obligated" to continue rewarding the terrorist prisoners and families of the so-called "Martyrs" even if it will be with their "last financial resources."
Earlier this year, Israel decided to withhold from the tax money it collects on behalf of the PA an amount equaling the sum the PA pays to terrorist prisoners and released terrorist prisoners. These prisoners include mass murderers and heads of terror organizations. In response, the PA has refused to accept all the tax money, amounting to over 50% of its budget, thereby inflicting a serious financial crisis on itself.
To overcome this crisis - and in order to have money available to continue to pay the terrorists in full - the PA has cut the salaries of its law-abiding public employees by 50%.
Palestinian Media Watch has further documented that Abbas then had the nerve to ask Europe for money, claiming Israel is responsible for the PA's self-inflicted crisis.
Believing Abbas, the EU has now answered his appeal and stepped in to help pay the salaries to terrorists and murderers.
As money is fungible, the fact that the EU's donation of 15 million euros is earmarked to cover "the April salaries and pension payments of approximately 57,000 [PA] public employees," is in reality self-deception, because:
1. The PA cuts salaries of public employees to free up money to maintain full salaries to terrorist prisoners;
2. The EU gives PA money to cover salaries to public employees;
... as a result, the EU indirectly pays terrorist prisoners
Rather than condemning the PA practice of rewarding terrorist murderers, the EU is becoming a willing partner in the program, enabling the PA to continue.
This EU move is contradictory to its recent announcement that it is against payment of salaries to terrorists. EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn stated to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee of PA donor countries (AHLC) in April that the EU is against this PA practice. Hahn's statement also showed, however, that the EU - in another act of self-deception - has bought the PA allegation that Israel is responsible for the PA's current financial crisis:
Hahn: "We are all aware of the fiscal crisis the PA is facing and of the potential human, social and security consequences. Both sides need to move towards a solution.
Israel's decision to withhold clearance revenues violates current arrangements.
At the same time, we do not support the system of Palestinian payments to 'prisoners and martyrs.'"
Website of the European Commission , April 30, 2019, bold in source
The following is the announcement of the EU's donation in the official PA daily:
"The European Union (EU) donated 15 million euros to pay the April [2019] salaries and pension payments of approximately 57,000 [PA] public employees in the West Bank.
The EU explained in a statement published yesterday [May 3, 2019] that this donation, which is funded by the EU, is part of the direct financial aid to the PA through the PEGASE mechanism (i.e., an EU mechanism to facilitate direct financial aid to the PA)."
Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 4, 2019