Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes his security cabinet for approval to implement a law to cut funds to the Palestinian Authority over its payments to terrorists and their families.
The Knesset passed a law last year slashing Palestinian tax funds Israel transfers to the PA by the amount Ramallah pays to convicted terrorists and the families of Palestinians killed while carrying out attacks.
The law was opposed by Israeli security officials who fear further cuts to the Palestinian Authority’s budget could hurt security cooperation or destabilize the West Bank and lead to new terror attacks against Israelis.
The government has refused to implement the power given to it by the law to freeze the fund transfers, though politicians have faced public pressure to crack down on the PA’s payments, which are viewed as incentivizing terror attacks.
Netanyahu, who is seeking reelection this April, has come under increasing pressure to crack down on the PA in the wake of the brutal murder of an Israeli teen in a terrorist attack earlier this month.
Last week, he told ministers that he would deduct the payments immediately after he received permission from the high-level security cabinet.
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From the Liveblog of
Sunday, February 17, 2019
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