PLO official charges Israel with 'stealing our money'
Headline: "Masses of our people have marked the 55th anniversary of the outbreak of the revolution"
"Our people marked the 55th anniversary of the modern Palestinian and the Fatah Movement yesterday [Dec. 31, 2019]… In Ramallah, thousands participated in a procession that set out from the Ramallah High School for boys in the center of town to Al-Manara Square, where the central ceremony took place at which a number of PLO Executive Committee members and Fatah Central Committee members were present…
PLO Executive Committee member [and PA Minister of Social Development] Ahmed Majdalani said: … While we are celebrating, we are conveying to the occupation government a clear message that rejects political extortion. We stand here strongly and will not abandon the families of the Martyrs and the prisoners and will bear our responsibility towards our prisoners and Martyrs despite the attempts to take over and steal our money (i.e., referring to the latest implementation of Israel's Anti 'Pay-for-Slay' Law; see note below)."
Ahmed Majdalani also holds the positions of Secretary-General of the terror organization Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF) and of the PLO Department of Labor and Planning.
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.