Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz are "giving Palestinian terrorism a huge boost," the Yamina party said Thursday after the Defense Ministry decided to freeze a directive that forbids Palestinian banks from transferring stipends to imprisoned terrorists and their families.
Kan 11 News reported Thursday that the directive, signed a month ago by GOC Central Command Maj. Gen. Nadav Padan, was put aside based on recommendations from officials in the security establishment. The freeze will reportedly remain in effect for 45 days.
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Yamina issued a statement that "The Netanyahu-Gantz government gave Palestinian terrorism a huge boost this morning. The government gave the Palestinian Authority permission to transfer money to terrorist murderers and their families. Under pressure from the Palestinian Authority, they froze the directive that was issued under former Defense Minister Naftali Bennett."
Bennett, who leads Yamina, said in a tweet: "When I was defense minister, I took care to issue a directive that banned Palestinian banks from paying monthly salaries to those who murder Israelis. A bank that did would be flagged and suffer a critical blow. The Palestinian banks stopped transferring payments to murderers. That drove the murderers' families crazy. The Palestinian Authority pressured Netanyahu-Gantz to freeze the directive, and they did."
MK Bezalel Smotrich (Yamina) sent out his own tweet, "After the government transferred money to the Palestinian Authority earlier this week without deducting the money [the PA] pays terrorists, today it is also allowing Arab banks to pay salaries to terrorists without any fear. They are encouraging terrorism and giving in to the Palestinian Authority and encouraging it to keep up its fight against Israel. This is serious and dangerous."
The Palestinians said on Wednesday they were rejecting taxes collected on their behalf by Israel, an escalation of measures in protest of Israel's plan to extend sovereignty to large parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley.
The taxes, to a tune of $100 a month, are managed by Israel under 1993 Oslo Accords and make up over half of the Palestinian Authority's monthly budget.
The Palestinians snubbed the handovers for several months last year after Israel trimmed the cash in retaliation for their funding for the families of jailed terrorists or those killed while carrying out attacks.
With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having last month secured a new government, stating he will push the plan to apply Israeli law in Judea and Samaria as early as July, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has declared bilateral deals null.
Palestinian government spokesman Ibrahim Melhem said in a statement that Ramallah has rejected the May tax levies "in compliance with the leadership decision to stop all forms of coordination with Israel".
The Israeli Finance Ministry declined to comment on the issue.
It was not immediately clear how the PA, its economy already hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, could function should it continue doing without the monthly taxes.
In other developments, while Israel has extended an 800 million shekel ($230 million) loan to the cash-strapped PA to help Abbas deal with the pandemic, the government is refusing to disclose the conditions of the loan.
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Several groups representing bereaved families as well as a good governance advocacy group have petitioned the High Court of Justice asking it to order the state to make these details public.
The court ordered the government to do so but it did not, citing the state's position on its response to the petition has yet to be determined.
"The government's refusal to disclose the details of the loan to the Palestinians is very troubling and indicates that those responsible for it know it will fail to meet public scrutiny," the Lavi organization for good governance said in a statement.
"In a time of financial crisis, it is absurd that such an unusual move is made without full transparency and public inspection."
According to available details Israel has agreed to allow the PA to begin paying off the loan in late 2020, devising a 24-month installment plan, and charging Ramallah a mere 1% interest.
