The Palestinian Authority (PA) is proving once again that it values terrorism more than peace as it slashes funding to its staff and stops Palestinians accessing Israeli medical care in order to keep funding terrorist salaries.
The decision came after Israel refused to hand over 7% of the money it collects on behalf of the PA because that is the amount of the annual budget the PA pays terrorists through their “pay-for-slay” scheme. To make matters worse, the Palestinian leadership rejected the other 93% of the money Israel collects on the principle that if they don’t receive 100% then they will reject all of it.
PA Ministry of Health Spokesman Osama Al-Najjar said: “The decision is political par excellence and comes in response to Israel deducting sums from the money that it collects for us.”
The PA purposely damaged themselves financially, putting the lives of their people at risk, in order to score a political point against Israel. Why? Because the United Nations will now blame Israel for withholding funds, even though it is the PA’s fault for rejecting it.
All the while the UN will completely ignore the millions of pounds being spent the Palestinian leadership on terrorism.
What does this mean for Palestinian civilians?
The PA is using those cuts as an excuse to no longer permit Palestinians to travel for medical treatment in Israel — which costs the PA $100 million a year — while still paying in full the salaries to both imprisoned and released terrorists, as well as the allowances to wounded terrorists and the families of dead terrorists.
The decision comes on the heels of the PA’s decision to cut the salaries of civil servants, 40 percent of which earn less than 2,000 shekels per month (about $535). It demonstrates the reality that under the so-called “pay-for-slay” scheme, Palestinians terrorists who have been in prison for a cumulative period of three years earn higher salaries than 40 percent of the PA’s law-abiding public employees. (Source)
Who is to blame for this crisis?
The Palestinian Authority is to blame. They had the opportunity to receive 100% of the money they were owed. They simply needed to stop paying terrorists. They had the opportunity to receive 93% of the money they were owed, but they rejected all of it on “principle”.
If the Palestinian Authority had accepted either 100% or 93% of the money, the Palestinians would still have access to medical care and their full salaries. Instead, the Palestinian Authority proved to us that it values terrorism and war over peace and prosperity.
The Palestinian Authority is fully and solely to blame. Yet, the world will no doubt blame Israel.
