Naftali Bennett
Naftali BennettOlivier Fitoussi/Flash 90

Qadri Abu Bakr, the head of the Palestinian Authority’s Prisoners Affairs Commission, condemned the decision of the Israeli Cabinet to freeze the funds transferred by the Palestinian Authority to terrorists and their families.

The Cabinet decided on Sunday to deduct the amount the PA pays terrorists and their families from the taxes and tariffs collected for the PA by Israel.

According to the decision, the deduction amounted to a total of 597 million shekels, which the National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing in the Defense Ministry reported was the sum of PA funds allotted towards indirect support for terrorism in 2020.

The law stipulates that Israel may begin deducting 1/12 of the sum on a monthly basis.

In response, Abu Bakr called the Israeli Cabinet's decision "racist behavior" and "a policy of robbery of some of the state's funds estimated at millions of shekels."

He stressed that the decision would only increase the Palestinian Authority's determination to support the fighters who sacrificed their lives and souls in defending the homeland from "a despicable enemy who practices all forms of terror against us and against our homeland."