Firefighters extinguish fire in wheat field caused by Gaza incendiary kites
Firefighters extinguish fire in wheat field caused by Gaza incendiary kitesFlash 90

The Palestinian Authority expressed outrage Monday after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli National Security Council to begin deducting money from Israel’s tax transfers to the PA in order to compensate Israeli farmers harmed by Arab arsonists near the Gaza border.

PA spokesman Yousef al-Mahmoud called the plan by Israel to penalize the PA for damages caused by Gaza residents to Israeli farmers “an act of robbery and banditry”.

“The Israeli government is plotting to steal the funds of the Palestinian people,” al-Mahmoud said, according to the WAFA media outlet. “This is an act of aggression committed by thieves in the form of Israeli officials.”

Since March 30th, Gaza rioters have clashed with Israeli security forces protecting the frontier with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Along with attempts at mass infiltrations into Israel, some rioters have sought to cause financial harm on Israeli farmers near the Gaza Strip by intentionally sparking fires on Israeli agricultural land.

Using kites carrying improvised incendiary devices, dubbed “terror kites”, the rioters have managed to cause serious financial losses for some farmers whose property lies near the Gaza border.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu instructed Meir Shabbat, chief of Israel’s National Security Council, to deduct money from the taxes collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

Each month, Israel collects income tax from PA residents working in pre-1967 Israel. The funds are then transferred to the PA.

Under the arrangement laid out by the Prime Minister, Israel will deduct from those tax transfers any monetary damages incurred by the recent “kite terror” attacks on Israeli border communities near the Gaza Strip. Israeli farmers and others impacted by the arson attacks will be compensated with money deducted from the PA taxes collected by Israel.