BRUSSELS/JERUSALEM— ‘’The European Union will continue to raise its concerns regarding the nature of the Palestinian system of payments to detainees and families of so-called “martyrs,’’ an EU spokesperson said in a statement after the Israeli Security Cabinet last week approved the implementation of a law to deduct some funds from tax revenue withheld from the Palestinian Authority over its payments to terrorists and their families.
The move would deduct funds equal to the amount the P.A. spent to support terrorists and their families in 2018. The Israeli decision did not, however, include deducting funds equal to the amount the P.A. spends on so-called “martyrs,” experts noted.
Following the Israeli decision, the Palestinian Authority announced that it would no longer accept any tax revenues, unless transferred in full.
‘’We have been in touch with both parties and expressed our clear expectation that economic and fiscal agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority should continue to be fully implemented, including Israel’s obligations under the Paris Protocol (of the Oslo Accords),’’ the EU statement said.
The EU called on the Palestinian Authority to continue accepting the tax transfers on a provisional basis, which, it said, ‘’does not constitute a legal or political endorsement of Israeli deductions.’’
The statement added : ‘’A functioning Palestinian Authority that delivers health, education and security to millions of Palestinians is in the interest of both Palestinians and Israelis. We expect both parties to avoid any steps that could risk undermining stability on the ground and the viability of a future Palestinian state.’’
The European Union said it expects ‘’genuine commitment from both sides towards a peaceful and negotiated two-state solution, including the need to oppose incitement.’’
The decision by the Security Cabinet to deduct some funds from tax revenue withheld from the Palestinian Authority came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had come under increasing pressure to implement the law following the brutal murder of Israeli teen Ori Ansbacher by a Palestinian terrorist earlier this month.
According to reports, the $138 million is likely be deducted over a 12-month period.
Ahmed Majdalani, a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization, accused Israel as well as the United States, which passed a similar law earlier in 2018 known as the Taylor Force Act, of blackmail.
“The occupation government is seeking to destroy the national authority in partnership with the U.S. administration of Donald Trump,” Majdalani said in a statement.
Decision does not include deductions for Palestinian martyr payments
According to Maurice Hirsch, head of legal strategies for Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), “We welcome the decision of the government as a great start.”
However, Hirsch emphasized that the government only deducted the payments to terrorist prisoners and released prisoners. The government “did not touch at this point the P.A. payments to the families of dead or wounded terrorists,” he noted. “Our (PMW) estimate is that the sum paid to the dead terrorists alone, without the wounded, is over $63 million.”
Hirsch added, “It is just a shame that the Ministry of Defense didn’t use the last six months since the law passed in order to calculate the amount the P.A. pays to the families of the dead and wounded terrorists.”
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu “instructed security officials to step up checks on additional Palestinian Authority payments linked to terrorism, including those to terrorists and their families. The amount frozen will be updated as per the information received.”