PA Civil Affairs Head: Salaries of prisoners and Martyrs will be paid “at all costs”
Text posted on the Facebook page of Fatah Central Committee member and Head of Civil Affairs in the PA Hussein Al-Sheikh on Oct. 4, 2019; Text in Arabic also appeared in the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida on Oct. 5, 2019
Text posted in English and Arabic: “(All errors in source –Ed.) On Thursday 3rd of October 2019, I have met with the #Israeli Minister of #Finance [Moshe Kahlon] and have discussed all outstanding issues. We have reached an agreement to activate joint committees to examine all issues which will commence their duties next Sunday. The agreement was also on transferring a payment from the #PA’s financial dues. The dispute remains over the salaries of the families of #prisoners and #martyrs (refers to Israel’s Anti “Pay-for-Slay” Law to deduct terror salaries; see note below –Ed.). We are determined to pay their dues at all costs.”
Israel's Anti "Pay-for-Slay" Law - Israeli law stating that the PA payments to terrorists and the families of dead terrorists is a financial incentive to terror. The law instructs the state to deduct and freeze the amount of money the PA pays in salaries to imprisoned terrorists and families of "Martyrs" from the tax money Israel collects for the PA. Should the PA stop these payments for a full year, the Israeli government would have the option of giving all or part of the frozen money to the PA. The law was enacted by the Israeli Parliament on July 2, 2018. During the parliamentary vote, the law's sponsor Avi Dichter said: “The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee received much help in its deliberations... from Palestinian Media Watch who provided us with authentic data that enabled productive and professional deliberations, nuances that are very difficult to achieve without precise data.” [Israeli Parliament website, July 2, 2018] In accordance with the law, as of September 2021 Israel’s Security Cabinet had ordered the freeze of 1.857 billion shekels ($580.15 million) - the sum equivalent to the PA payments to terrorists in 2018, 2019, and 2020.