Israel has suspended the order forbidding PA banks through to process salary payments to security prisoners and the families of dead terrorists, Reshet Bet radio reported Thursday morning. The order, issued a month ago by the Commander of the Central Command, Gen. Nadav Padan, resulted in the banks freezing the accounts of terrorists and their families, a move which later exposed them to a wave of lawsuits.
And so a notice of the suspension of the order for 45 days was sent to the Palestinian Authority Wednesday night, following the decision of the Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz. Defense establishment officials confirmed the news, saying that the decision had been made in light of the recommendation of various components in the defense establishment to re-examine the order and obtain a legal opinion on the significance of the order, in light of the sensitivity and tension on the ground.
Hard to believe? Not if you’re former Defense Minister and now member of the opposition Naftali Bennett, who slammed Gantz on his Facebook page Thursday morning:
Incomprehensible. This morning, Defense Minister Benny Gantz canceled an order preventing the payment of terrorist salaries. From this moment on, Palestinian banks are again allowed to transfer money to the murderers of Jews.
I’ll explain: the Palestinian Authority transfers about NIS 1.3 billion ($373 million) each year to incarcerated terrorists, their families, and the families of terrorists killed during attacks. This money is the main engine of Palestinian terror. It simply pays to murder Jews. It’s a kind of ‘exit’ for any Palestinian Arab. The families of the murderers of Uri Ansbacher ZL, Dvir Shurek ZL, members of the Vogel family, the Park Hotel in Netanya, the dolphinarium and all the thousands of murdered Jews, receive thousands of shekels every month.
Two months ago, when I was Defense Minister, I issued an order prohibiting Palestinian banks from transferring monthly payments to murderers of Israelis. Any bank that transfers salaries to murderers faces sanctions that lead to its closure. The order was a huge success. The Palestinian banks simply stopped transferring payments to murderers.
This was driving the killer families mad, and they were heating up the PA. Shots were fired at banks in Jenin and Ramallah and windows were shattered, but payments to the murderers were stopped.
As I mentioned, it succeeded.
The Palestinian Authority put tremendous pressure on certain security forces, who put pressure on me to cancel the order. I did not agree to cancel. It is an order that saves Jewish lives from future attacks. Literally.
No money for murderers >> fewer murderers.
This morning, Defense Minister Gantz (with the consent of Prime Minister Netanyahu?) canceled the order. Yes. You heard right. This morning, the State of Israel is officially allowing Palestinian banks to once again transfer money and salaries to the murderers of Jews and to their families.
Netanyahu, reactivate the order. I’m asking everyone — don’t keep quiet. Share, scream. Prevent the next murder!
Yesterday, The Jewish Press Online reported that DM Naftali Bennett failed to submit a report on the PA salaries in 2019 at the beginning of 2020, so that Israel never offset that blood money from the taxes it collected on behalf of the PA in 2019. Payments then continued uninterrupted through April this year (Report: Under DM Bennett Israel Continued to Sponsor PA Terrorists’ Salaries).