Smotrich orders withholding of $26mln of Palestinian tax funds
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The Israeli Finance Minister says that withholding Palestinian funds is part of a larger strategy to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
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Israeli occupation Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at the Knesset, in occupied al-Quds, on July 10, 2023. (AP)
Israeli occupation Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has directed the withholding of 100 million shekels ($26 million) in tax funds intended for the Palestinian Authority, stating that the money will be allocated to compensate what he calls Israeli "victims of terrorism."
In a statement released late Sunday, the Israeli Finance Ministry claimed the move was "part of measures to combat terrorism."
Smotrich accused the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, of transferring the funds to the "families of terrorists," referring to Palestinians killed or detained at the hands of occupation forces for carrying out Resistance operations.
The Finance Ministry's statement noted that this was the fifth instance of withholding funds, which "Israel" collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.
On Monday, Smotrich indicated that withholding Palestinian funds is part of a larger strategy to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and "to ensure security" for Israelis, as well as increasing illegal settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.
"We are working on the ground to remove this threat (of a Palestinian state) ... by strengthening settlement through construction, ... fighting the terror funds of the Palestinian Authority and its leaders, and maintaining complete Israeli control over the area," he wrote on X.
Following the start of the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, "Israel" has imposed economic restrictions on the Palestinian Authority, often withholding the tax revenues.
Smotrich: Starving 2 million Gazans 'justified and moral'
In a related context, Smotrich said that he views blocking humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip as “justified and moral,” even if it leads to the starvation of 2 million civilians, Israeli media reported.
He added, however, that the international community would not permit such an outcome.
Smotrich made these remarks at a conference in Yad Binyamin, hosted by the Israel Hayom outlet.
"We are bringing in aid because there is no choice," he said.
"We can’t, in the current global reality, manage a war. Nobody will let us cause 2 million civilians to die of hunger even though it might be justified and moral until our hostages are returned," the Israeli Minister explained.
Read more: Palestinian taxes: PA's transferred via Norway, Gaza's frozen
