PA Prisoners' Club: Israeli law targeting banks that transfer PA salaries to terrorists is "dangerous turning point" that requires Palestinians to "prepare for a new confrontation"

Headline: “The [PA-funded] Prisoners’ Club: The occupation is committing new terror against the prisoners and their families”

“The [PA-funded] Prisoners’ Club said yesterday [April 23, 2020] that the Israeli occupation government is committing new terror against the Palestinian people by issuing a new military order that persecutes and punishes all of the people, institutions, and even banks that work with the prisoners and their families and open bank accounts for them (refers to the application of much of Israel’s Anti-Terror Law to the West Bank –Ed.). The Prisoners’ Club said in a statement it issued that this military order, which will take effect on May 9 [2020], is a dangerous turning point that requires the Palestinian people with all its official frameworks and bodies – the civilian ones and those of the factions – to prepare for a new confrontation with the occupation. He added: ‘The Israeli occupation with all its tools is continuing the attempts to harm the rights of the Palestinian prisoners and their families, and also of the released prisoners, by imposing additional laws and military orders. This is after its failure to stop the allowances (mukhassasat) of the families of the prisoners and the Martyrs given the Palestinian leadership’s insistence on paying them (refers to Israel’s Anti “Pay-for-Slay” Law to deduct PA terror salaries; see note below –Ed.).
The Prisoners’ Club explained that throughout recent years the occupation has attempted to connect the Palestinian struggle and mix it with what is called the war on terror, so that this trend would include the Palestinian Martyrs and prisoners who have fought for their right to freedom and independence.
The Prisoners’ Club continued: ‘The occupation is beginning this new policy that attempts to impose terror on the Palestinian banking system, which will have consequences for tens of thousands of families of prisoners and released prisoners. This is especially because it has already actively begun to confiscate the money of families of prisoners and released prisoners from the territories that were occupied in 1948 (i.e., Israel) and from Jerusalem (refers to seizure of PA salaries paid to Israeli Arab terrorists –Ed.).’

Israel's Anti "Pay-for-Slay" Law - Israeli law stating that the PA payments to terrorists and the families of dead terrorists is a financial incentive to terror. The law instructs the state to deduct and freeze the amount of money the PA pays in salaries to imprisoned terrorists and families of "Martyrs" from the tax money Israel collects for the PA. Should the PA stop these payments for a full year, the Israeli government would have the option of giving all or part of the frozen money to the PA. The law was enacted by the Israeli Parliament on July 2, 2018. During the parliamentary vote, the law's sponsor Avi Dichter said: “The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee received much help in its deliberations... from Palestinian Media Watch who provided us with authentic data that enabled productive and professional deliberations, nuances that are very difficult to achieve without precise data.” [Israeli Parliament website, July 2, 2018] In accordance with the law, as of September 2021 Israel’s Security Cabinet had ordered the freeze of 1.857 billion shekels ($580.15 million) - the sum equivalent to the PA payments to terrorists in 2018, 2019, and 2020.