Palestinian Authority (PA) cabinet leader Mohammad Shtayyeh said on Sunday that PA authorities have been able to overcome the danger of the coronavirus spreading through Palestinian Arab workers returning from Israel, after they discovered that 79 percent of all infections came from these workers and from people close to them.
Shtayyeh noted that the PA leadership opposes the steps taken by Israel against the transfer of monthly allowances to the families of prisoners and shaheeds (martyrs -ed).
He said that the bank accounts of the families of prisoners and “shaheeds” in Palestinian Arab banks have been reopened.
An order released by Israel last week would expose PA banks to fines and imprisonment if they continue transferring funds to terrorist prisoners' bank accounts.
In response to the order, PA banks froze the terrorists' accounts, but promised to reopen them in defiance of the orders banning facilitation of payments to terrorists.
In a statement issued over the weekend, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) claimed the Israeli orders were a "violation and an end to diplomatic and economic agreements" between Israel and the PA.
The PA provides monthly allowances to terrorist prisoners, many of whom have been convicted of murdering or assisting in the murder of Jews. The amount of the monthly allowance increases based on the length of the prison term.
Last year, the Israeli government decided to offset the tax money it collects on behalf of the PA because of the monthly financial aid it provides to families of terrorists. The decision meant it would withhold around $10 million per month from revenues of some $190 million per month it collects on the PA's behalf.
PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas later reiterated that he would not accept partial payment of tax transfers owed by Israel and also stressed that he would not end the financial support for the families of terrorists imprisoned or eliminated by Israel.