The Israeli government has decided it will no longer remain passive as the Palestinian Authority conducts diplomatic and legal warfare against it, as at the UN with the just-adopted resolution asking the International Court of Justice to rule on Israel’s “annexation” and “occupation” of Palestinian territories. Instead, it has passed a series of measures to punish the PA. First, the Israeli government will withhold $40 million USD from the PA, money from the import taxes it collects for the PA and in the past simply handed over; now that $40 million will be distributed to victims of Palestinian terror. In addition, the Israelis will also be withholding from the import taxes it transfers to the PA an amount equal to what the PA provides, through its “Pay-For-Slay” program, to imprisoned terrorists, and to the families of terrorists killed while attacking Israelis, Israel will now withhold about $147 million USD, that the PA now provides annually through “Pay-For-Slay.”
Naturally the PA is outraged that Israel should dare to withhold those funds. They are joined by the Bidenites, who claim that Israel’s new measures are what “exacerbate tensions,” and not the Palestinian policy that offers financial rewards to terrorist murderers. More on the American reaction to Israel’s new attempts to curb Palestinian terrorism can be found here: “US: Israel’s Withholding of Funds over Palestinian Terrorism ‘Exacerbates Tensions,’” JNS.org, January 10, 2023:
US State Department spokesman Ned Price on Monday described a series of Israeli measures meant to curb and punish Palestinian terrorism as a “unilateral move” that “exacerbates tensions.”
Of course, anything Israel does – whether the IDF tracks down terrorists to their lairs in Nablus and Jenin, or Ben Gvir takes a 13-minute walk around the perimeter of the Temple Mount, or Israel withholds transferring funds to the PA in the exact amount that the PA gives to terrorists and their families – will “exacerbate tensions” with the PA. So what? America gives aid to Ukraine that “exacerbates tensions” with Russia; should it therefore stop such aid? America is building up Taiwan’s military; this “exacerbates tensions” with Communist China. Should we therefore stop?
Now the PA’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh is claiming — warning — that if Israel withholds that tax money, the PA will “collapse.” Given that the PA is conducting a full-scale political and legal war against Israel at the UN, and with its “Pay-For-Slay” program both rewarding past, and incentivizing future terrorism, why should Israel care if the PA collapses? As Israel’s new Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said, “as long as the P.A. supports terror and is an enemy, why am I interested in helping it exist?”
Israel’s Security Cabinet last week approved the measures in response to what it described as the Palestinian Authority’s ongoing “political and legal war” against the Jewish state. The previous week, the U.N. General Assembly, at the urging of the P.A., passed a resolution calling on the International Court of Justice to “render urgently an advisory opinion” on Israel’s “prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of Palestinian territory.”
“We have continued to make the point that unilateral actions that threaten the viability of a two-state solution, unilateral actions that only exacerbate tensions—those are not in the interests of a negotiated two-state solution,” said Price….
Palestinian terror is what “exacerbates tensions.” Israeli efforts to catch and punish terrorists, or to persuade the PA to stop financially rewarding imprisoned terrorists, and the families of dead terrorists, do not “exacerbate tensions,” but attempt, by decreasing terror, to bring about a less violent atmosphere one in which Israel may be prepared to discuss greater Palestinian autonomy, possibly leading to a demilitarized state in some parts of the West Bank.
As part of the measures, Israel on Sunday transferred $39.5 million of taxes and tariffs collected for the P.A. to the victims of terrorism and their families.
At a press conference, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, “We promised to fix this, and today we are correcting an injustice. This is an important day for morality, for justice and for the fight against terrorism. There is no greater justice than offsetting the funds of the Authority, which acts to support terrorism, and transferring them to the families of the victims of terrorism.”
The Security Cabinet also decided to immediately withhold taxes and tariffs collected on behalf of the P.A., in an amount equal to that which Ramallah paid to terrorists and their families in 2022 as part of its “pay-for-slay” policy. In 2021, the P.A. paid out an estimated 512 million shekels ($157 million) as part of this initiative.
When asked about the possible economic collapse of the P.A., Smotrich replied, “As long as the Palestinian Authority encourages terrorism and is an enemy, what interest do I have in helping it exist?”…
P.A. Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said on Monday that the punitive measures on Ramallah would “promptly lead to its collapse.”
Shtayyeh’s attempt to scare, or threaten, Israel with the possibility of the PA’s “collapse” should Jerusalem go through with its recent set of punitive measures, and especially with its decision to withhold from the taxes it transfers to the Palestinians the amount the PA spends on its “Pay-for-Slay” program, hasn’t worked. Shtayyeh must have been horrified at Smotrich’s attitude.
In an interview with Haaretz, Shtayyeh described the Security Cabinet decision as “another nail in the Palestinian Authority’s coffin, unless there is immediate intervention by the international community, namely the [Biden] administration in Washington and Arab countries.
Shtayyeh has it wrong. There is not one, but many “nails” in the PA’s coffin. The most important is its decision to unceasingly support terrorism, with large sums of money; for now those same sums will no longer be transferred by Israel from the taxes it collects for the PA, but withheld. But there are many other “nails in the PA’s coffin.” There is the fantastic corruption in the PA, with Mahmoud Abbas himself setting an example for other PA big shots, having amassed a family fortune, with his sons Tarek and Nasser, of some $400 million. There is the suppression of all dissent by Abbas’ enforcers. There is the murder of those opponents of Abbas who prove to be too dangerously popular on social media; that is why Abbas had his goons beat to death his most effective critic, Nizar Banat. There is the absence of elections, with Abbas now entering the 19th year of his four-year term as President. In 2020, he promised that elections would finally be held, but quickly withdrew the offer as soon as he realized that he would lose, in a landslide defeat, to any conceivable opponent. He blamed Israel for forcing the cancellation of the election, claiming that the Israelis would not let Palestinians in Jerusalem take part in the vote; this was a lie. Israel was perfectly ready to allow the Palestinians in east Jerusalem to vote, as long as they cast their votes just outside the city limits.
“Previous Israeli governments worked to eliminate the two-state solution, and the current government is fighting the Palestinian Authority itself,” he added.
Asked why the P.A. continues to wage a campaign against Israel in international fora, Shtayyeh said, “We have the right to complain and tell the world we are in pain. Israel wants to prevent even the most nonviolent way of fighting the occupation.”
Oh dear. According to the PA’s Prime Minister, the PA has a right to wage a diplomatic and legal war against Israel, but Israel must not even think about fighting back, beginning with financial penalties for the PA’s support of terrorism.
Also on Monday, a Knesset panel approved the fast-tracking of legislation to revoke the Israeli citizenship and residency of terrorists who receive a salary for their crimes from the Palestinian Authority.
The Knesset’s House Committee, headed by MK Ofir Katz (Likud), authorized an expedited process of voting the bill into law, which can now take place within two weeks.
“For years we’ve become accustomed to having an entity [the Palestinian Authority] receive funding from the State of Israel while it maintains an official price list: ‘Murdered a Jew? Here’s a stipend. And if you’re an Israeli citizen, you’ll get more, depending on how many people you’ve killed,’” said Religious Zionism Party lawmaker Simcha Rothman, who drafted the bill along with Likud colleagues.
“The bare minimum we can do as a moral country is to revoke their citizenship and residency,” he added.
These are all good measures, that ought to have been part of Israel’s law decades ago. Now we’ll see if Shtayyeh’s warning about the imminent collapse of the PA, should these new measures be implemented, comes to pass.
And if it does, many Israelis and supporters of Israel will shrug and say, with Bezalel Smotrich, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
Jim J Fox says
Why has this taken so long?
Fitna says
Good on Israel, about time they realize they have no allies in this ugly war, so there is no reason to continue to accede to their enemies demands, when there is zero benefit to doing so.
I really hope they take off the gloves against the Palis, Iranian regime and other enemies, now that it knows that it’s really on its own for its survival and security.
The scummy Dem party has made it clear it’s no friend of Israel as well, thankfully most Republicans still are and I’m sure they’re working in the background to help Israel any way they can.
In next presidential election we need a leader who is serious about securing the border, defending Israel and fighting Islam and as far as I know only Ted Cruz seems to be fit for the job. Trump was a joke and doesn’t deserve the job.
James Lincoln says
Fitna says,
“Trump was a joke”
Apparently, you did not like Pres. Trump.
What specific policies of his did you have issues with?
And what current policies of Ted Cruz do you prefer?
Fitna says
Hey James, I felt that Trump was completely ineffective and complacent when he had the reins of power. He was more concerned with this image than to deal with our enemies, not just the Muslims infiltrating the US govt but also the Leftists.
Not to mention all he could’ve done to deal with Islam globally and to lock up the southern border.
I believe Ted Cruz understands Islam far better than most people and he takes all these problems much more seriously. Unless there is a better candidate, Cruz would make a great Potus in the next election.
And for me Islam basically trumps all other issues (pardon the pun), because if we ignore this enemy, a lot of people will suffer and die.
cardbank16 says
‘Exacerbates’ ? Do you mean Palestinians may have motor vehicles on continuous circuits around Israeli cities ready to mow people down?
tgusa says
A quick heads up to the Bidenite menace. Not everyone runs for it when confronted by islamic jihadists. Step down from the podium crawl under your desks.