PA paid terrorists NIS 1.15 billion in 2016, intelligence official says - Gideon Allon

by Gideon Allon

PA spent 7% of its budget for salaries and 20% of its foreign aid on paying terrorists and their families, says former Military Intelligence official • "We will tackle Palestinian incitement head on," says Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman.

Payments to terrorists made up 7% of the PA's total salaries' budget in 2016 [Illustrative] | Photo credit: Reuters

The Palestinian Authority spent some 1.15 billion shekels ($322 million) on payments to terrorists in 2016, a former Military Intelligence official revealed Monday. 

The Palestinian Authority spends millions of dollars annually paying stipends to the families of terrorists who are either jailed in Israel or were killed while carrying out terrorist attacks against Israelis, a practice Israel has repeatedly condemned.

Speaking at a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on Palestinian incitement, Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, formerly head of the Military Intelligence Research Division, said that "in 2016, the Palestinian Authority paid 1.15 billion shekels in salaries to terrorists and their families. This amounted to 7% of the Palestinian Authority's total budget for salaries and about 20% of the foreign aid it received."

Committee Chairman Likud MK Avi Dichter noted that "it's unthinkable that Israel pursues a diplomatic process with aim of reaching a peace deal, when we have to deal with incitement by those who are supposed to be our partners. Moreover, for years now, not only has it [Palestinian incitement] not decreased -- it's on the rise."

Dichter noted that "if legislation is necessary, then the committee will legislate. We will tackle Palestinian incitement head on."

Gideon Allon

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=42769

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