Israel freezes bank accounts of terrorists’ families

Israel has decided to freeze the bank accounts of Arab Israeli terrorists who receive financial rewards from the Palestinian Authority, calling it “another step in the campaign against terrorists.”

Defense Minister Naftali Bennet on Wednesday signed the seizure order to freeze the bank accounts of eight convicted Palestinian terrorists and their families all of who had been receiving thousands of dollars a month.

“We are taking action, this is a further step in the fight against terrorism,” Bennet said. “Jewish blood will no longer be financially lucrative.”

The terrorists are currently serving life sentences in Israeli prisons for their roles in the murders of dozens of Israelis in terror attacks dating back to 1984.

Earlier this year, the security cabinet approved implementing a law to cut more than half a billion shekels in tax revenue due to the Palestinian Authority over its payments to terrorists and their families.

A year ago, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Taylor Force Act, which mandated cutting certain aid to the PA until it ended these same stipends. Taylor Force was an American citizen killed during a terror attack in Jaffa.

This is the first time Israel is blocking terrorists’ allowances coming from the Palestinian Authority, according to a Defense Ministry spokesperson.

Palestinian Media Watch reported that more than $100 million in stipends was paid out to terrorists serving prison sentences in Israel last year. Others have the figure at over $300 million and it prompted President trump to cut off aid to the Palestinians. Since its founding, the Palestinian Authority has made monthly payments to terrorists in Israeli prisons, up to $4,000 a month for some of them.