PA warns Israel tax deduction over terror payments are risking Hamas coup

The Palestinian Authority has warned Israel that its withholding of some tax revenues over the PA’s monthly stipends to terror convicts and their families raises the risk of the Hamas terror group carrying out a military coup in the West Bank, Channel 12 news reports.

Israel says the sums of money the Palestinians pay to imprisoned terrorists and terror suspects, as well as the families of those killed in attacks against Israelis, are a direct reward and incentive for violence. Palestinians describe the payments as an important form of social welfare and say they are responsible for their citizens.

Israel earlier this year announced it was withholding over $138 million in revenue, the amount Israeli officials calculate that the PA spends on the stipends. In response, the PA refused to accept any of the tax money.