TEL AVIV: Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has ordered to seize US $26 million of tax funds intended for the Palestinian Authority, saying it would be used on Israeli citizens.
In a statement, the finance ministry justified the illegal confiscation of Palestinian funds as “part of measures to combat terrorism”.
Smotrich accused the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, of misusing the funds.
Israeli politicians have regularly criticised the Palestinian Authority for providing financial assistance to the families of Palestinians killed or jailed by Israel.
The finance ministry statement said this was the fifth time it had withheld funds, which Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.
Smotrich in a post on social media site X said that the withholding of Palestinian funds was part of a wider strategy to stop the creation of a Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry on Monday said that Israeli relentless bombardment has killed at least 39,623 Palestinians, mostly women and children in the besieged enclave since last October 7. A ministry statement added that some 91,469 other people have been wounded in the assault.
“Israeli forces killed 40 people and injured 71 others in two ‘massacres’ against families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said. “Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
