Israel’s parliament has passed a law that withholds hundreds of millions of dollars in funds from the Palestinians over welfare payments given to prisoners and their families.
The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, approved on Monday the law with 87 of the 120 legislators voting in favour and 15 opposing.
The new legislation will deduct the money that the Palestinians allocate to prisoners and others killed by Israeli forces from taxes collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.
Legislator Avi Dichter, a co-sponsor of the law, said the families of Palestinian prisoners had easy access to these funds.
The Israeli law passed the same day that Australia said it ended direct aid to the Palestinian Authority, claiming Australian donations could increase its capacity to pay Palestinians convicted of politically motivated violence.
The cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, which relies heavily on the Israeli tax funds and international aid, has suffered from chronic budget problems.
Source: Aljazeera
