Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has moved to seize another $90 million from Palestinian tax revenues, redirecting the funds to Israeli families.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has decided to confiscate an additional $90 million from the Palestinian Authority’s tax revenues and transfer the money to Israeli families allegedly killed in attacks by Palestinians, according to Israeli media reports.
A report by TV7 Israel News, cited by the Anadolu news agency, said the move by the Israeli Finance Ministry was to prevent the PA from “continuing to reward terrorists and murderers” and to redirect the funds to “terror victims” and their families.
↗️Israel confiscates additional $90M in Palestinian tax revenues
Palestinian government uses tax revenues to pay the salaries of public employees, which account for 65% of total state revenues https://t.co/1zm3YiiEvC pic.twitter.com/yQkF2DFS0N
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) February 18, 2025
“There is no more moral and just signature than the one that prevents the Palestinian Authority from funding terrorism, and diverts its funds to benefit of the families of terror victims,” Smotrich said in a post on his X account.
“This is a necessary step in our national war. We will not allow the Palestinian Authority to promote terrorism,” he added.
The “seizure joins the offsetting of Gaza funds, the freezing of terrorist payments, and a series of additional steps I have taken in accordance with the uncompromising policy I have advocated since taking office,” Smotrich continued.
The finance minister stated that he would “continue to act resolutely for the security of Israeli citizens.”
$168m Cut Annually
The Palestinian government uses tax revenues to pay the salaries of public employees, which account for 65 percent of total state revenues, according to Anadolu.
Since 2019, however, Israel has decided to cut 600 million shekels ($168 million) annually, citing monthly allowances provided by the PA to prisoners and ex-prisoners.
אין חתימה מוסרית וצודקת יותר מזו שמונעת מהרשות הפלסטינית לממן טרור, ומעקלת את כספיה לטובת משפחות נפגעי הטרור.
זהו צעד הכרחי במאבק הלאומי שלנו נגד הטרור ונגד הרשות הפלסטינית שמעודדת אותו.
העיקול הזה מצטרף לקיזוז כספי עזה, להקפאת תשלומי המחבלים ולשורת צעדים נוספים שנקטתי בהתאם… pic.twitter.com/bCbJiu3vRg
— בצלאל סמוטריץ’ (@bezalelsm) February 17, 2025
The figure has subsequently increased to an average of $195 million annually, the report noted.
Since November 2021, the PA has been unable to pay the salaries of public employees in full.
Occupied Palestine remains dependent on Israel for its foreign trade, with almost all Palestinian imports and exports coming from Israel or Israeli-controlled points.
Israel has been withholding customs duties collected on behalf of the Palestinian government for months.
PA Cuts Funds for Families
Earlier this month, PA President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree on Monday revoking laws and regulations related to payments to the families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and the families of those killed by the Israeli army.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Abbas issued a decree “revoking the provisions in laws and regulations regarding the financial allowances system for the families of prisoners, martyrs, and the wounded in the Prisoners’ Law and the regulations issued by the Cabinet and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).”
To Win US Approval, Abbas Cancels Financial Support for Families of Prisoners
The decree also transfers the cash assistance program, its database, and its financial local and international allocations from the Ministry of Social Development to the Palestinian National Foundation for Economic Empowerment.
Meanwhile, Axios reported that a Palestinian official stated that President Abbas had decided to revoke the laws that had been enabling payments to the families of prisoners and martyrs, a move that had been communicated to the US administration in advance.
(Anadolu, PC)
