Danon called for the UNSC to address the issue of the PA’s payments to convicted Palestinian terrorists serving time in Israeli prisons.
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Danny Danon on Thursday called for the Security Council (UNSC) to address the issue of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) payments to convicted Palestinian terrorists serving time in Israeli prisons.
“The Security Council must act immediately to put an end to the funding of terrorists by the Palestinian Authority. Aid provided by the donor countries to the PA every year ends up funding terrorist who murdered innocent Israelis,” Danon said.
Israel believes the stipends for families of Palestinian terrorists killed or jailed in Israel are rewards for terrorism that directly generate additional terrorist acts.
A close look at the PA’s financial activity reveals that a significant segment of its budget is designated to the compensation, funding and support of terrorists, presenting an incentive and a significant form of incitement to terror.
Since 1998, the PA has encouraged terrorist attacks against Israel by honoring and supporting Palestinian terrorists serving sentences in Israeli prisons and financially rewarding the families of Palestinians killed while carrying out terror attacks.
Speaking outside of the Security Council, Danon presented data showing PA payments to Palestinian terrorists.
Palestinian Blood Money
On Wednesday, Danon sent an official letter to the UNSC on this topic.
“According to Palestinian Authority laws and regulations, every terrorist arrested, tried and imprisoned receives monthly financial payments. The more Israelis killed, the longer the terrorist is sentenced to prison, the higher the payment the terrorist receives from the PA,” Danon wrote in his letter.
“A Palestinian terrorist who murders innocent civilians and is sentenced to over thirty years in prison receives over $3,000 US dollars a month. Put simply, this is official Palestinian blood-money, rewarding terrorists who murder Jews. The State and people of Israel want nothing more than to live in peace and security with all of our neighbors. If the Palestinians seek the same goal, then their first step must be to stop the glorification of terrorists,” Danon concluded.
Palestinian terrorist prisoners are regarded by the PA as patriotic “fighters” and as employees of the PA government. While in prison, these terrorists and their families are paid premium salaries and given extra benefits as rewards for their service. On release from custody, the terrorists become civil service employees.
Shockingly, monthly salaries for both incarcerated and released prisoners are on a sliding scale, depending on the severity of the crime and length of prison sentence.
The PA spends at least $300 million annually on terrorists’ stipends, totaling approximately $1 billion over the past few years. At the same time, the PA receives massive international aid and exists on the verge of bankruptcy.
By: Max Gelber, United with Israel