PLO decides to cut economic and security ties and freeze recognition of Israel, reiterates "our right to resist the occupation in all manners," opposes Taylor Force Act
Headline: “The [PLO] Central Council has decided to end all of the commitments of the PLO and the PA to their agreements with the occupation authority”
“The Palestinian [PLO] Central Committee decided to end all of the commitments of the PLO and the PA to the agreements with the occupation authority ‘Israel,’ and primarily the freezing of the recognition of the State of Israel until [Israel] recognizes the State of Palestine in the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital. This is in light of Israel’s continued denial of agreements that were signed and the commitments that have derived from them, and in light of the fact that the transition period is no longer valid. The Central Council also decided in its statement yesterday evening [Oct. 29, 2018] after the conclusion of the 30th regular session in Ramallah - the ‘session of Khan Al-Ahmar (a site where Bedouins have constructed illegal structures on Israeli state land; see note below –Ed.) and the defense of the national basic principles’ - in the presence of [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas, on the ending of the security coordination in all of its forms, and economic disengagement, in light of the fact that the transition period, including the Paris Agreement (an agreement on economic relations between Israel and the PLO; see note below –Ed.), is no longer valid…
The Central Council emphasized its adherence to our right to resist the occupation in all manners (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror), in accordance with international law. It praised the resolve of the prisoners of freedom in the Israeli occupation’s prisons, and simultaneously condemned the continued policy of administrative detention and the arrest of children, summary executions, the holding of Martyrs’ bodies, and the continued refusal to return the Church of the Nativity exiled (i.e., exiled terrorists who took hostages and used them and the Church of the Nativity as shields; see note below –Ed.)…
The Council opposed the American extortion - the Taylor Force Act (US law that cuts funding to the PA if it continues to pay salaries to terrorists; see note below –Ed.), and the Israeli government’s decision to deduct the allowances (mukhassasat) of the families of the Martyrs, prisoners, and wounded from the Palestinian tax money, while blatantly violating international law, including Articles 81 and 98 (obligations to take care of the families of internees and provide them with allowances, does not apply to those accused or convicted of terrorist acts; see note below –Ed.) of the Fourth Geneva Convention from 1949, which emphasize the obligation to pay allowances and take care of the needs of the families of the Martyrs, prisoners, and wounded.”
Khan Al-Ahmar is a site where Palestinian Bedouins have illegally erected dwellings and a school, mostly simple shacks, on land in Area C (i.e., land under full Israeli administration according to the Oslo Accords). The Israeli authorities have ordered the demolition of these structures and offered alternative sites for them. A number of petitions to the Israeli Supreme Court against the demolition orders have been considered and then rejected by the court. As of October 31, 2018, the illegally constructed buildings have not been demolished. Palestinians have held protests at the site against the demolition, some of which have turned violent.
Paris Agreement – agreement on economic relations between Israel and the PLO, signed in Paris on April 29, 1994. Its main goal is to promote peace by establishing economic relations modeled on EU economic relations.
Siege of the Church of the Nativity - In 2002, during the PA terror campaign (the second Intifada, 2000-2005), Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank to prevent future terror attacks against Israelis. During the operation, 39 terrorists fled to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, using dozens of hostages and the religious site as shields. After 39 days of siege by the Israeli army, the terrorists released the hostages and were deported to Gaza and Cyprus. During the siege, the church was damaged in exchanges of fire between the terrorists and the Israeli army. One clergyman was murdered by the terrorists and 8 terrorists were killed by the Israeli army.
The Taylor Force Act - a US law named after US citizen Taylor Force who was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in Tel Aviv on March 8, 2016, which cuts almost all funding to the PA if it continues paying salaries to terrorists and allowances to families of "Martyrs."
PA claim that Israeli law to deduct PA tax revenues breaches Article 81 and 98 of the Fourth Geneva Convention - The PA claims that Israel's law to deduct the amount of the PA’s payments to terrorists and their families from taxes Israel collects for the PA (passed on July 2, 2018) breaches Articles 81 and 98 of the Fourth Geneva Convention (GCIV). This is incorrect, as Articles 81 and 98 apply only to “internees,” and not to terrorists who are standing trial, convicted, or released from prison, and likewise not to the families of dead terrorists. The only “internees” held by Israel are Palestinian terrorists held in administrative detention in accordance with Article 78 of GCIV, and Israel fulfills all its obligations vis-a-vis these “internees.” In addition, paragraph 2 of Article 98 clearly indicates that the sums provided are allowances and must be the same across the board regardless of time spent in prison or any other factors – very different from the PA’s system of paying monthly salaries to imprisoned terrorist that rise according to the time the terrorist spends in prison.
“The Palestinian [PLO] Central Committee decided to end all of the commitments of the PLO and the PA to the agreements with the occupation authority ‘Israel,’ and primarily the freezing of the recognition of the State of Israel until [Israel] recognizes the State of Palestine in the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital. This is in light of Israel’s continued denial of agreements that were signed and the commitments that have derived from them, and in light of the fact that the transition period is no longer valid. The Central Council also decided in its statement yesterday evening [Oct. 29, 2018] after the conclusion of the 30th regular session in Ramallah - the ‘session of Khan Al-Ahmar (a site where Bedouins have constructed illegal structures on Israeli state land; see note below –Ed.) and the defense of the national basic principles’ - in the presence of [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas, on the ending of the security coordination in all of its forms, and economic disengagement, in light of the fact that the transition period, including the Paris Agreement (an agreement on economic relations between Israel and the PLO; see note below –Ed.), is no longer valid…
The Central Council emphasized its adherence to our right to resist the occupation in all manners (i.e., term used by Palestinians, which also refers to the use of violence and terror), in accordance with international law. It praised the resolve of the prisoners of freedom in the Israeli occupation’s prisons, and simultaneously condemned the continued policy of administrative detention and the arrest of children, summary executions, the holding of Martyrs’ bodies, and the continued refusal to return the Church of the Nativity exiled (i.e., exiled terrorists who took hostages and used them and the Church of the Nativity as shields; see note below –Ed.)…
The Council opposed the American extortion - the Taylor Force Act (US law that cuts funding to the PA if it continues to pay salaries to terrorists; see note below –Ed.), and the Israeli government’s decision to deduct the allowances (mukhassasat) of the families of the Martyrs, prisoners, and wounded from the Palestinian tax money, while blatantly violating international law, including Articles 81 and 98 (obligations to take care of the families of internees and provide them with allowances, does not apply to those accused or convicted of terrorist acts; see note below –Ed.) of the Fourth Geneva Convention from 1949, which emphasize the obligation to pay allowances and take care of the needs of the families of the Martyrs, prisoners, and wounded.”
Khan Al-Ahmar is a site where Palestinian Bedouins have illegally erected dwellings and a school, mostly simple shacks, on land in Area C (i.e., land under full Israeli administration according to the Oslo Accords). The Israeli authorities have ordered the demolition of these structures and offered alternative sites for them. A number of petitions to the Israeli Supreme Court against the demolition orders have been considered and then rejected by the court. As of October 31, 2018, the illegally constructed buildings have not been demolished. Palestinians have held protests at the site against the demolition, some of which have turned violent.
Paris Agreement – agreement on economic relations between Israel and the PLO, signed in Paris on April 29, 1994. Its main goal is to promote peace by establishing economic relations modeled on EU economic relations.
Siege of the Church of the Nativity - In 2002, during the PA terror campaign (the second Intifada, 2000-2005), Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank to prevent future terror attacks against Israelis. During the operation, 39 terrorists fled to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, using dozens of hostages and the religious site as shields. After 39 days of siege by the Israeli army, the terrorists released the hostages and were deported to Gaza and Cyprus. During the siege, the church was damaged in exchanges of fire between the terrorists and the Israeli army. One clergyman was murdered by the terrorists and 8 terrorists were killed by the Israeli army.
The Taylor Force Act - a US law named after US citizen Taylor Force who was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in Tel Aviv on March 8, 2016, which cuts almost all funding to the PA if it continues paying salaries to terrorists and allowances to families of "Martyrs."
PA claim that Israeli law to deduct PA tax revenues breaches Article 81 and 98 of the Fourth Geneva Convention - The PA claims that Israel's law to deduct the amount of the PA’s payments to terrorists and their families from taxes Israel collects for the PA (passed on July 2, 2018) breaches Articles 81 and 98 of the Fourth Geneva Convention (GCIV). This is incorrect, as Articles 81 and 98 apply only to “internees,” and not to terrorists who are standing trial, convicted, or released from prison, and likewise not to the families of dead terrorists. The only “internees” held by Israel are Palestinian terrorists held in administrative detention in accordance with Article 78 of GCIV, and Israel fulfills all its obligations vis-a-vis these “internees.” In addition, paragraph 2 of Article 98 clearly indicates that the sums provided are allowances and must be the same across the board regardless of time spent in prison or any other factors – very different from the PA’s system of paying monthly salaries to imprisoned terrorist that rise according to the time the terrorist spends in prison.