PA PM: Financial crisis over salaries for terrorists continues, we insist on receiving all our money

Headline: “Shtayyeh: We reject the Israeli threats regarding our national economy and insist on receiving all of our money in full”

“[PA] Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh… noted during the [PA] government’s weekly meeting that was held yesterday [Oct. 14, 2019] in Ramallah that the financial crisis with the Israeli side still exists (refers to Israel’s Anti “Pay-for-Slay” Law to deduct terror salaries; see note below –Ed.), and said: ‘We insist on receiving all our money in full.’ …

The government also decided… to approve the payment of three months’ salary for [the PA public] employees, determine a schedule for the rest, and pay all of the salaries for October [2019].”

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.