PA deputy PM: “We demand… that not one penny be deducted from the money of the prisoners and Martyrs”
Headline: “Abu Rudeina: We have not appointed anyone to speak on behalf of Palestine”
“[PA] Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Information Nabil Abu Rudeina said… yesterday [May 2, 2019] during a press conference at the Ministry of Information headquarters in Ramallah… that there is an Israeli attempt to bypass the issues of the seized and stolen Palestinian money, and there are several proposals (apparently refers to EU proposal to reorganize PA terror salaries into welfare payments; see note below -Ed.) that are unacceptable because they harm the principle that we demand, which is that not one penny be deducted from the money of the prisoners and Martyrs (refers to Israeli Anti “Pay-for-Slay” Law to deduct terrorist salaries; see note below –Ed.), regardless of the temptations. He exposed some of the proposals that were suggested by a number of bodies and that are consistent with the Israeli attempts, which we will never accept. He said: ‘There are Israeli attempts to bypass the rights of the Martyrs and prisoners and we will not agree to any type of deduction. We have received proposals from a number of bodies whose names we do not want to say, and they are consistent with the Israeli attempts, which we will never accept.’”
EU proposal of welfare rather than terror salaries - an EU official made a proposal to the PA, in response to the PA financial crisis caused by its refusal to accept any tax money collected for it by Israel if terrorist salaries are deducted from it through Israel’s Anti “Pay-For-Slay” Law. On April 30, 2019, the EU official proposed reorganizing the PA payments to terrorists and their families as needs based welfare payments, rather than as direct payments for engaging in terror that increase according to the severity of the attack, and claimed this would remove any financial incentive for terrorism. The PA has rejected the proposal.