The political and security cabinet on Thursday night announced it will deduct from the taxes and customs that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority all the funds that would have been transferred from Ramallah to Gaza – in addition to deducting the funds the PA is paying as monthly salaries to terrorists behind bars and their families.
On Tuesday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating that since the PA had violated the 1994 Oslo Accords in every conceivable way, he intends to cut off the entire amount that Israel collects on its behalf.
Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and DM Yoav Gallant worked hard to push and cajole the ministers into supporting the continued funding for Ramallah, albeit somewhat curtailed. Both argued that the PA must be protected from collapsing.
Smotrich, as Finance Minister, intends to call for the establishment of security zones to protect Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria from the threat of Palestinian terrorism.
In a letter sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday, the head of the Religious Zionism Party, who is also a minister in the Defense Ministry, demanded that they convene an urgent session of the Political-Security Cabinet to discuss the “continuing insecurity” of the residents of Judea and Samaria.
Despite the October 7 massacre and the war in progress, the issues of security and sovereignty, as we’ve been reporting on regularly, must not be overlooked or put on the back burner until the war is over, With the plethora of terrorist attacks there, the Knesset will still pay the PA. This perpetuates the perfect storm for terrorist attacks carried out by the PA against Israel to continue. What are we missing here?
Smotrich calls for security zones in Judea and Samaria, by Update Desk, Israel at War/JNS