Financial Crisis? PA Continues to Pay Jailed Terrorists

The PA, despite complaining that it is suffering from a severe financial crisis, is continuing to pay to terrorists in Israeli prisons.

By Elad Benari, Canada -- Arutz Sheva 7

First Publish: 4/5/2013, 9:09 PM

Terrorist prisoner

Flash 90

 

The Palestinian Authority, despite complaining constantly that it is suffering from a severe financial crisis, is continuing to provide monthly payments to terrorists serving time in Israeli prisons, the Makor Rishon newspaper reported Friday. This is not the first time that the enormous salaries the PA pays terrorists have been exposed.

According to Friday's report, which was based on data collected by the research department of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, at least 4% of the PA government’s budget is allocated for terrorists' salaries.
Each month, the PA transfers about 17.5 million shekels to terrorists, the Foreign Ministry has found. While the PA has claimed to the international community that the funds are allocated for social assistance, the information collected in Israel shows otherwise.

According to the information published in Makor Rishon, the percentage of support for terrorists is determined by the number of years in prison each one has been sentenced to. This means that the more serious the crimes committed by the terrorist, the higher his salary.

According to the scale set by the PA, a terrorist who is serving more than 30 years in an Israeli prison earns 12 thousand shekels per month. Those terrorists who were sentenced to 25 to 30 years receive 10 thousand shekels each month. A terrorist who is serving five to ten years earns four thousand shekels.

The data collected has also found that the salaries of these thousands of terrorists is higher than the monthly salary of a PA Arab police officer, whose average salary is only about 2,700 shekels.

Furthermore, reported Makor Rishon, the Israeli Foreign Ministry has discovered that it is none other than PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who often presents himself to the world as opposing terrorism, who ordered two years ago that the payment to terrorists be tripled.

According to the report, Norwegian Foreign Minister Epsen Barth Eide met with Fayyad on Thursday and expressed his protest over what was happening in the PA. Just several weeks ago, Eide met with Fayyad as international donors tried to collect the $1.2 billion needed to help fund the PA.

Eide has in the past hinted that Israel was to blame for the PA’s financial crisis and has called on Israel to ease restrictions on the PA so as to allow it to continue to reform, and the donors to continue to donate.

European officials familiar with the matter were quoted by Makor Rishon as having said that the information collected is indeed disturbing and that at least some of the countries concerned, especially Norway and the UK, will look into it thoroughly.

Tags: PA ,Terror ,PA Finances

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