The Likud party sharply attacked Prime Minister Naftali Bennett Monday evening after Defense Minister Benny Gantz agreed to loan the Palestinian Authority half a billion shekels ($155 million).
''The State of Israel continues to pay the price for Bennett's picture at the White House. Bennett did not respond to the murder of a Border Police soldier and will now transfer NIS 500 million to Abu Mazen's terrorist authority, after he pledged last week not to act publicly against Iran," the Likud said.
"By stealing the votes of the right and crowning himself as prime minister with only six seats, Bennett returned the left to power and abandoned Israel's security," the party led by Benjamin Netanyahu added.
Meanwhile, the Shurat Hadin organization is considering filing a petition with the Supreme Court against the government's intention to grant a loan of half a billion shekels to the Palestinian Authority. The president of the Shurat HaDin organization, attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, said that "it is not possible that only two hours after we were informed of the bitter death of the late soldier Barel Hadarya Shmueli, the Israeli government decides to award a prize to terrorism. It is an illusory decision and a detachment from all reality."
"The price of strengthening the Palestinian Authority is paid by the State of Israel in the blood of the victims. After all, without the incitement of the Palestinian Authority, there would have been no knife attacks, and no terrorist attacks. People would not be stabbed to death at Tapuach Junction, or run over by an enthusiastic and agitated terrorist. Shurat Hadin will consider a petition to the Supreme Court if the state does not provide this package of assistance in [exchange for the PA] removing the incitement to murder Jews," Darshan Leitner added.
The Religious Zionism Party attacked the granting of the loan to the Palestinian Authority and said that "the Israeli government has taken a detour to the law on offsetting the salaries of terrorists and is transferring hundreds of millions of dollars to Abu Mazen. It's an 'Israbluff' in which they ostensibly offset with one hand and transfer a 'loan' with the other."
"Transferring the funds to the Palestinian Authority without making it conditional on stopping the transfer of salaries to the families of the terrorists encourages terrorism and harms the global fight against it. By what moral right can the State of Israel demand from the world to exert pressure on countries and bodies that support terrorism if it itself financially supports an entity that directly encourages terrorism?!
"There is no money for public hospitals, no money for the salaries of soldiers, but there is money for the artificial respiration of those who work against Israel in The Hague and strategically endanger the State of Israel and its security. This left-wing government is a dangerous government for the State of Israel," the party added.