Israel committee passes bill to deduct tax funds from PA

The Israeli Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee today approved a bill to deduct funds transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Israeli Ynet news outlet reported that the deduction would be equal to the amount of funds the PA gives to the families of killed Palestinians.

The bill’s original draft there, which states that there would not be any flexibility regarding the funds deducted, passed its first reading in early May.

Two weeks ago, the committee approved the law, which was introduced under the law of “deduction of financial funds transferred by the Palestinian Authority to the families of ‘terrorist activists’ from the tax allocations that Israel transfers to the PA.”

READ: Israel drafts new law to deduct $250m from PA funds

According to the bill’s proposal, the Palestinian Authority transfers seven per cent of its budget, estimated at 1.1 billion shekels ($300 million), financed largely by US and European aid, to pay salaries and funding for Palestinian prisoners and to pay stipends to families of killed and wounded Palestinians.

Earlier this week, the United States suspended aid funds to the West Bank and Gaza under the “Taylor Force Law”, which was passed in March of this year, and will prevent the Palestinian Authority from paying monthly stipends to the families of killed, wounded and imprisoned Palestinians.