PA Prime Minister: "The financial crisis that we are facing is a result of Israel’s ongoing measures to steal our money"
Headline: “Shtayyeh: The occupation is the primary cause of the financial crisis we are facing”
“[PA] Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said that ‘The occupation is the primary cause of the financial crisis that we are facing, and the difficult situation that we are being subjected to is a result of Israel’s ongoing measures that steal our money and prevent us from being able to reach and take advantage of Area C (i.e., land under full Israeli administration according to the Oslo Accords), in addition to limitations that it is placing on the freedom of the movement of goods and people.’ …
The prime minister again emphasized his demand to pressure Israel to release our confiscated money (refers to Israel’s Anti “Pay-for-Slay” Law to deduct PA terror salaries; see note below -Ed.) so that we will fulfill our obligations to our people in full.”
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.