(JNS-Israel Hayom) Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser and Or Yissachar - Traditionally, Israeli governments avoided confronting the Palestinian Authority over its breaches of the Oslo Accords, such as supporting terrorism, ongoing incitement, and unilateral activities in international fora. Yet in retaliation for the PA's appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the new security cabinet impose a series of sanctions on the PA, signaling that the Israeli government will no longer look the other way when the PA unilaterally breaches its signed commitments and continues to fund, incentivize, and praise terrorism. First, $40 million taken from PA tax revenue collected by Israel was used to compensate families of terror victims per a pending court order against the PA. Next, the cabinet decided to implement the Freezing Terror Funds Law, which deducts the amount of money the PA pays to terrorists and their families from funds designated for the PA. In addition, VIP permits for PA officials who are leading the "lawfare" campaign against Israel were denied. Unjustified and unauthorized Palestinian construction plans for Area C of Judea and Samaria - which Oslo designated as under full Israeli control - were frozen. A series of NGOs operating under the guise of humanitarian aid organizations that served as shell companies for terror groups will be more closely scrutinized. The PA continues to be a strategic threat to Israel's security. It has been involved in terrorism since it was established. PA payments to terrorists have been official policy for decades. The PA offers stipends of $400 to $3,500 monthly for every Palestinian terrorist who murders or attempts to murder innocent Israelis. These salaries are lifelong. For the average Palestinian, this is like winning the lottery. A lifetime monthly salary of $3,500 is four times the average Palestinian wage and eight times higher than the minimum wage. A convicted terrorist makes five times more than teachers and engineers, and as much as a Palestinian supreme court judge. Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser is director of the Project on Regional Middle East Developments at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Or Yissachar is Head of Research and Content for IDSF-Habithonistim.
2023-01-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive