In Overtur to Trump, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas ends the payments for prisoners

For years, the Palestinian administration in the occupied West Bank dismantled hundreds of millions of dollars from salaries for Palestinian families who were imprisoned or killed by Israel – including those involved in violent attacks.

A long time ago, the United States and Israel condemned payments and pressed the Palestinian Authority to end them. On Monday, the Authority announced that it was retracting this practice-a transformation that analysts saw an attempt to lie to President Trump and bring external aid that affects the need in Palestinian treasures.

Palestinian officials said, on the condition that his identity is not disclosed to discuss a sensitive issue, that this step aims to make the Palestinian administration in compliance with American law and allow more external aid to flow. The United States Law prohibited the direct American economic assistance of the Palestinian Authority as long as it carried out this practice.

The embargo has only deprived of the economic distress of the Palestinian Authority, which suffers from financial distress in recent years, and has been increasingly struggled to cover their expenses and pay the salaries of its monthly employees.

Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, issued a decree on Monday night that reformed the payment system. The salaries were one of the most emotionally charged issues in Palestinian policy.

A body established to manage social welfare payments for the needy Palestinians, known as the Palestinian National Economic Employment Corporation, said in a statement that the families of the prisoners will receive funds that depend only on financial needs and social welfare standards, “without regard to political affiliations or previous procedures.”

The law means that the families of prisoners are still eligible for social welfare payments as long as they show a financial need, rather than compensating them for fighting the rule of Israel.

The statement said that the new system is committed to 43 internationally recognized criteria to assess the needs of social welfare.

Both American and Israeli officials will closely monitor the implementation of the new policy to see if it leads to a real shift.

The Palestinians were quick to criticize the decision of Mr. Abbas. Many view in the West Bank, and it is permissible for those who were imprisoned by Israel, either victims of the unfair Israeli military courts or freedom fighters who led against their occupants.

Ibrahim Dallasha, the Palestinian political analyst, said that Mr. Abbas throws gambling at a new beginning for Mr. Trump after years of bad blood, and hopes to obtain a silent local response.

This is the Trump effect. “The Palestinian Authority wants to start well with Trump.”

Since the US elections in November, the government of Mr. Abbas has sought to rebuild its relationship with the US President after his first term. But Mr. Trump’s recent insistence that nearly two million Palestinians must be transferred from the Gaza tape has already added new strains.

During his first term, Mr. Trump angered the Palestinian leadership by moving the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the disputed capital in Jerusalem, freezing most of the aid and collecting the peace plan they saw deeply for Israel.

Israel has argued that paying benefits to the families of prisoners who participated in deadly stab wounds, shooting and suicide bombings against the Israelis creates a financial incentive for terrorism. The policy was described as “payment for play”, where Palestinians who have longer sentences get higher salaries, Effective bonus people to commit more common attacks from Israel’s point of view.

In response, Israel has blocked money from the Palestinian Authority, and often more than $ 100 million every year. The money is obtained from the tax revenues that Israel gathered on behalf of the Palestinian administration.

In 2018, Mr. Trump signed the Taylor Fores law, which ended the economic assistance that benefited directly from the Palestinian Authority as long as it continued to pay salaries. In its statement, the new Palestinian Welfare Foundation said that the reform “is in line with the goals of the Taylor Fores Law.”

The Israeli government quickly rejected Mr. Abbas’s announcement that it was a trick, saying it would not end the practice of pushing the prisoners’ families.

“This is a new deception plan by the Palestinian Authority, which intends to continue to push terrorists and their families through alternative payment channels,” said Orn Marmomerstein, a spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It is unlikely that the decree of Mr. Abbas immediately lead American aid to start flowing again to the Palestinian Authority. Mr. Trump has not yet said whether he was ready to support the Palestinian Authority.

Other legal obstacles, including the expanded process to ratify that the government of Mr. Abbas is compatible with the Taylor Fores law.

If the Palestinian Authority imposes changes, this will be a great matter for Mr. Abbas, who had previously insisted that he would never give up payments. In the past, it is He went to the point that even if the Palestinian Authority is running out of money, it will spend everything that remains on the salaries.

In late January, Hussein Al -Sheikh, Supreme Adviser to Mr. Abbas, Steve Witkev, the Middle East envoy in the Middle East, informed that the Palestinian Authority was ready to move forward in reviewing the prisoner payment system, according to the Palestinian official and another diplomat.

This shift immediately pushed criticism in the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority runs some areas, including the major Palestinian cities. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the competitors of Mr. Abbas, condemned this decision.

Al -Qadorah Fares, the Commissioner for the Affairs of Palestinian Affairs, called on Mr. Abbas to “immediately retreat” during a press conference on Tuesday.

“This step is very wrong.” “Prisoners are an icon. They are the ones who sacrificed for our freedom.”

Natan Odinheimer and Fatima Abdul Karahah Contribute to reporting this article.