Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at a discussion in the social-economic cabinet, 10/16/2023/Ministry of Finance Spokesperson
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatens not to transfer to the Palestinian Authority the tax money that Israel collected for it during the month of January, if the cabinet does not deduct the full amount that the PA transferred as payment to the families of terrorists in 2023.
Smotrich said these things in a letter he sent about three weeks ago to the coordinator of operations in the territories Major Rasan Aliyan.
The political-security cabinet is meeting tonight to discuss the issue of offsetting the funds that the Palestinian Authority transfers to the families of terrorists, and to approve the annual amount to be offset - based on a report from the security establishment.
Smotrich's move appears to be an attempt to increase the amount of money that Israel will deduct from Palestinian tax money every month.
A move seen as an attempt to increase the offset.
Bezalel Smotrich/Reuven Castro
In the letter, Smotrich claims that in recent years, the security establishment did not report to the cabinet the correct amount that the authority transferred as payment to the families of terrorists, but reported much lower numbers.
The Minister of Finance demanded that the security establishment present how it calculates the amount that the Cabinet is supposed to offset before the Cabinet vote.
People around the finance minister say that he will demand to understand and receive answers about the financial mechanism before approving the transfer.
Smotrich claimed in the letter that the data reported by the defense establishment to the cabinet in recent years and based on which the offsetting of the funds was approved do not coincide with data from the Palestinian Authority's budget.
For example, according to him, in 2019 the cabinet ordered a freeze of 502 million shekels, while the Palestinian media reported that 550 million shekels were transferred to pay salaries to the families of imprisoned terrorists, and 687 million to pay the families of terrorists who were killed.
The Minister of Finance writes that following the war in Gaza, the number of security prisoners increased by more than 80%, so it should be expected that the amount of money paid by the Palestinian Authority will increase significantly accordingly.
A political official confirmed that the issue was discussed tonight in the cabinet.
The office of the Minister of Defense, who is in charge of the National Headquarters for Economic Warfare against Terrorism - has not yet given a response.
More on the same topic:
Bezalel Smotrich
the Palestinian Authority
terrorists