MOSCOW, August 4 Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered to send 26 million dollars of tax funds intended to be transferred to Palestine, “the families of victims of terror,” the Times of Israel newspaper writes, citing the minister’s statement.
In January, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office reported that Israel's military-political cabinet approved a plan to freeze funds allocated to the Gaza Strip; it provides for storing money in Norway and the possibility of transferring it to the Palestinian authorities only with Israeli permission. Under existing agreements, Israel collected monthly taxes and duties on behalf of the Palestinians and transferred these funds to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), part of which was used to finance its apparatus in the Gaza Strip. These funds accounted for more than half of all revenues to the PNA budget.
«Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered the seizure of some 100 million shekels ($26 million) in tax funds earmarked for the Palestinian Authority, saying the money would go to the families of terror victims,» the newspaper reported.
Smotrich, according to the newspaper, said the move was intended to «punish» the Palestinian Authority for payments to «the families of Palestinian terrorists.»
On October 7, 2023, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. After that, fighters from the Palestinian Hamas movement penetrated the border areas, opening fire on the military and civilians, and took more than 200 hostages. According to the authorities, about 1.2 thousand people were killed.
The Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords in the Gaza Strip, which includes strikes on civilian targets. Israel announced a complete blockade of the enclave: supplies of water, electricity, fuel, food and medicine were stopped. The death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since October 7 has exceeded 39.5 thousand people, more than 91 thousand were injured.
The Gaza Strip was effectively divided into southern and northern parts, Israel is conducting a ground operation in Rafah, which is considered the last stronghold of Hamas.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to cease hostilities. According to Moscow's position, a settlement is possible only on the basis of the formula approved by the UN Security Council with the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.