From the Liveblog of
Monday, July 6, 2020
Fearing sanctions, Palestinian banks refusing to pay out terror stipends
Four banks are again refusing to dispense stipends that the Palestine Liberation Organization pays to convicted terrorists, allegedly for fear of Israeli sanctions that go into effect on July 19.
Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission director Qadri Abu Bakr says that he is demanding that the banks pay the stipends, adding that the banks are violating the instructions of the Palestinian government. The refusal to dispense the money comes after two months in which the Palestinian Authority has been unable to pay any of its employees due to a massive fiscal crisis.
The Israeli government has long opposed the tens of millions of dollars the PLO pays to Palestinians convicted of terrorism and their families every year, which Israel says encourages terror.
After an Israeli military edict that criminalized Palestinian government funding for convicted terrorists, several banks closed or froze prisoners’ accounts in the West Bank and Jordan in early May. Abu Bakr later announced that the salaries had been dispensed, and Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported that Defense Minister Benny Gantz had suspended the edict until mid-July.
— Aaron Boxerman
The Times of Israel Community.