PA is in contact with Biden administration to renew terrorists' salaries, paid through banks
Headline: “Abu Bakr to Al-Quds: The prisoners’ salaries are expected to be paid next month, we are determined to transfer them to the banks”
“Director of [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Qadri Abu Bakr announced that the Palestinian leadership is holding contacts at the highest levels with the American administration, with the Europeans, and with the Israeli authorities in order to find a solution that will allow the renewal of paying the salaries of the prisoners in the occupation’s prison and the released prisoners (refers to the application of much of Israel's Anti-Terror Law to the West Bank, including rendering banks liable to punishment for facilitating PA terror salaries -Ed.).
In an exclusive phone statement to Al-Quds, Abu Bakr said: ‘We hope that the payment of the salaries via the banks will be renewed in April [2021].’ He noted: ‘A team of 64 employees in the commission and in other institutions is working even on vacation days to arrange this matter, which is sacred from our perspective.’
Abu Bakr said that the released prisoners who were assigned to the [PA] security and military forces as part of arranging their status – 7,500 in number – will receive a payment according to their new financial limitations in these institutions (apparently refers to the institutions’ salary arrangements -Ed). Regarding the prisoners in prison who have received part of their salaries from the forces they belong to while the commission completed the remainder, he said that their problem has been resolved; it was determined that the one responsible for the payment [in full] is the forces, whether the security forces or the military forces.
Abu Bakr explained that approximately 1,500 released prisoners suffering from health problems will not be asked to come to work in the forces (but apparently will still receive salary -Ed.), while thoseaged 60 or older will be put on pension. Those under this age will be integrated into the institutions to which they were assigned.
He emphasized that the commission is insisting that the prisoners’ salaries be paid via the banks and not in any other way, and expressed hope that the Palestinian leadership will succeed in reaching an agreement on the matter with the aforementioned parties.”
Israeli army legislation which applies parts of Israel's 2016 Anti-Terror Law to the West Bank (taking effect on May 9, 2020). The law prohibits numerous terror related offenses, including terror funding/rewarding and holds heads of terror organizations responsible for murder committed by members of the organization. The law criminalizes the provision of funds for or the payment of rewards for the commission of terrorist offenses, such as the salaries the PA pays to terrorist prisoners and released prisoners. The provision also applies to any person or body - such as a bank - that facilitates such funding or rewarding of terror offenses. Based on this last provision, PMW sent letters in April 2020 to the heads of banks in the PA areas warning them that they must freeze the accounts of terrorists and their proxies and transfer them to the Israeli army or face legal consequences.