Abbas spokesman on terrorists: 'Heroes'
Headline: “Abu Rudeina: Jerusalem and the livelihood of the families of the Martyrs and prisoners are at the top of the leadership’s priorities”
“Official [PA] Presidential Office Spokesman [and Fatah Commissioner of Information, Culture, and Ideology] Nabil Abu Rudeina said that any peace plan that ignores the Palestinian people’s firm rights – and prime among them Jerusalem and the holy sites there – will not pass.
Abu Rudeina said in a press statement yesterday evening [Feb. 26, 2019] that the Israeli piracy, which is expressed by the deduction of the money of the families of the Palestinian people’s heroes (refers to implementation of the Anti “Pay-for-Slay” Law to deduct terrorist salaries from PA tax money; see note below –Ed.) will not lead to a concession on Jerusalem or the abandonment of the Palestinian people’s firm rights.”
Nabil Abu Rudeina also serves as a Fatah Central Committee member.
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.