PA condemns Israeli bill aimed at slashing funds

Palestine

Published: 2018-07-04 22:21

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 20:47


These Funds are salaries paid out to families of Palestinian individuals who were either killed or imprisoned by Israel.
These Funds are salaries paid out to families of Palestinian individuals who were either killed or imprisoned by Israel.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) condemned the Israeli Knesset’s (the legislative branch of the Israeli government) decision to vote in favor of passing a bill that aims to freeze the PA's salaries, which are paid out to families of prisoners and martyrs in Palestine, Petra news agency reported on Tuesday.

PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that PA representatives denounce such a dangerous legislation.

"If this decision comes into effect, the Palestinians would take important steps to face it. This crosses all red lines," Rudeineh said, considering that the adopted law "would constitute a declaration of war on the Palestinian people, activists, prisoners and martyrs who carried the banner of freedom for Jerusalem and for an independent Palestine."

If the bill comes into effect, the annual money paid by Israel to the PA will gradually cease and eventually affect Palestinian families, most of which consist of orphans and widows. Such an act rubs salt into the wound, as the relation between the two countries has been on a downswing for decades.