US Special Envoy Jason Greenblatt accused the Palestinian Authority of prioritizing its payments to terrorists over providing healthcare to its own people.
"The budget that the PA allocates to implement the 'pay to slay' policy is far greater than the $ 8 million a month it owes hospitals in East Jerusalem," Greenblatt said in an interview with Yisrael Hayom.
"If the Palestinian Authority ceased to give priority to the terrorists and their families, it could have covered the cost of the health system without any difficulty," he said.
In his remarks, Greenblatt responded to claims in the Israeli media that the US had harmed the funding of the PA's system of hospitals and clinics in eastern Jerusalem.
These claims were made following the US administration's recent decision to significantly reduce the assistance received by the Palestinian Authority due to the insistence of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on continuing to pay salaries and compensation to terrorists and their families.
Greenblat believes that "all Palestinians must know that they do not have access to a quality health system because the Palestinian Authority has decided that it is more important to support the terrorists. The one to blame is the Palestinian Authority, which for years has been transferring its funds to the disgusting program, "pay to slay," and is making improper use of PA funds in other areas. We are not going to take part in financing such a system."