Only Arab MKs and Meretz faction object to bill approved by large majority on first reading.

The Knesset today approved a bill to withhold salaries the Palestinian Authority transfers to terrorists.

55 Knesset members supported the bill and 14 opposed. Meretz was the only Jewish faction to vote against the law and they were joined by Joint Arab List MKs.

The bill calls for the Defense Minister to submit a yearly report for Security Cabinet Committee approval summarizing the total funds paid by the Palestinian Authority intended for terror.

According to the proposed law, the amount determined in the Defense Minister's report and certified by the ministerial committee will be permanently withheld from total funds transferred to the PA in accordance with implementation provisions of the interim agreements with the Palestinian Authority. Every month an amount equal to one-twelfth of the total payment will be deducted from the payments to terrorist operatives made in the previous year.

With regard to monies that have been permanently and completely deducted, the bill states that a designated fund will be established, to be managed by the Administrator-General, to which these funds will be transferred.

The monies to be withheld and transferred to the fund will be used to execute judgments handed down in Israeli courts against the PA or terrorist operatives, for paying compensation to victims of offenses that were heard in courts in Israel or in the Judea and Samaria region, in rulings against terrorist operatives, and for carrying out projects and missions to strengthen the fight against terror and terror financing, to be approved by the Minister.

Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben Dahan (Jewish Home) presented the bill to the Knesset on behalf of the Government of Israel.

"The State of Israel says, 'No more,'" said Ben Dahan, "We'll fight terrorists not only by capturing and bringing them to justice, but also after they've been imprisoned. We'll continue to fight terrorists, their families, and those who finance them. We will demonstrate zero tolerance for terrorism.

"According to defense establishment data, the Palestinian Authority pays more than NIS 1 billion a year to terrorists and their families. Imagine how many kindergartens and schools could have built with this amount. Instead of investing in education and health, instead of caring for the residents of Gaza, the PA is concerned about encouraging terror." </s> The Knesset late Monday night passed historic legislation hailed by the Right for legalizing some 4,000 settler homes and attacked by the Left as the first step toward de facto annexation.



Its passage by a vote of 60-52 marks the first time that the Knesset has sought to impose Israeli law in Area C of the West Bank, which is under Israeli military and civilian rule. That territory is considered to be outside the Knesset’s purview and such an action could be viewed as an initial application of sovereignty.

"This is a historic step toward the completion of a process that we plan to lead; the application of full Israeli sovereignty on all the cities and communities in Judea and Samaria,” said MK Bezalel Smotrich (Bayit Yehudi). Smotrich and Likud MK Yoav Kisch both are co-chairs of the Knesset Land of Israel Caucus, that helped sponsor the bill.Bayit Yehudi party Naftali Bennett tweeted one word. “Revolution.”“Our determination paid off,” a jubilant Bennett said, as he thanked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party for supporting the vote.“To our friends in the opposition who are surprised that a nationalist government would pass a bill in favor of the settlements – that’s democracy,” he added.Left-wing Israeli non-governmental groups Peace Now, Yesh Din and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel immediately promised to petition the High Court of Justice against the legislation.Ahead of the voting, opposition leader MK Isaac Herzog called on the coalition to halt the vote, claiming that its consequences will harm Israel.“This vote is not about whether we are with or against the settlers, it’s about what the State of Israel needs,” he said. “This government is passing a bill that is an acute danger to the State of Israel,” he continued. “Never in the history of Israel has the Knesset passed a bill against state laws and against the senior legal advisers of the government.“This legislation is de facto annexation,” he continued. “Our opposition to the law stems from our opposition to annexation... We have just a few more minutes to stop this terrible train before it leaves here and stops at The Hague.”Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akunis dismissed claims that the bill advances a bi-national state.“We will not annex territories with Palestinians. They have their own Palestinian rule and they can vote for the Palestinian parliament,” he said. “We heard all the claims about the bill contradicting international law, and that the Supreme Court will overrule it. It is all nonsense.”Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin blamed the opposition for mentioning the international community and the ICC as reason to object the bill.“It’s about time that you’ll understand that this is our country. It transcends politics and you and should be ashamed of yourselves,” he said.The vote took place without Netanyahu, who was still on his way back from London after meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May. Likud MK Bennie Begin voted against the legislation, the only coalition MK to do so.The bill’s passage ends months of bitter debate over the legislation, both within the right-wing parties and between the coalition and the opposition.Netanyahu had initially appeared to oppose the legislation, and there was much speculation that he had changed his position due to pressure from Bayit Yehudi.Earlier in the day, Netanyahu told reporters in London that he would be in the Knesset for the vote, as he dismissed speculation that he wanted to torpedo the legislation.Just one day earlier, Netanyahu had said he wanted to coordinate the bill’s passage with US President Donald Trump and his new administration, which led to speculation that he would not authorize the legislation until after his February 15 meeting with the president in Washington.In London, where he met with British Prime Minister Theresa May, the premier said he merely wanted to make sure that there would be no surprises between friends, a problem that plagued his relationship with former US president Barack Obama. “I said I would act according to our national interests and it is in our best interest not to surprise our friends, certainly not our very good friends. Friends do not surprise each other,” Netanyahu said.In a veiled reference to reports that Bayit Yehudi had pressured him to support the legislation, which had begun as a private members bill, Netanyahu said, “I am acting responsibly and not according to any kind of dictates.”UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov urged Israel to refrain from approving the legislation.“If adopted into law, it will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace. The bill has been deemed unconstitutional by the attorney-general of Israel and is in contravention of international law. I urge Israeli legislators to reconsider this move,” he stressed.MK Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) noted that most factions in the coalition opposed the bill and called upon them to have the courage to resist pressure from Bayit Yehudi to pass it.Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said the only reason the bill was being advanced was that coalition MKs realized that Netanyahu has been weakened as a result of the ongoing criminal investigations against him, and so they see that now would be a good time to pressure him.The legislation is set to retroactively legalize some 4,000 settler homes on private Palestinian land and offers to compensate its owners. The intention is to prevent future demolitions, like the one that occurred last week in the Amona outpost.Approval of the legislation runs counter to almost 40 years of Israeli judicial rulings against the construction of homes on private Palestinian property.Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit has warned that the legislation is unconstitutional and would not withstand any legal challenges.Culture Minister Miri Regev had warned that if the High Court of Justice overruled the law, the government would be justified in taking immediate steps to annex Judea and Samaria. She went on to warn that if the court took that step, it would further inflame tensions.Left-wing opponents also raised concerns that it would sway the International Criminal Court to rule on the issue of West Bank settlements.Last week, the Knesset House Committee voted in favor of limiting the discussion on the bill in order to prevent filibusters by the opposition.“We, the opposition factions’ members, said again and again that we object to the way the discussions are made and that they are not according to the Knesset regulations,” said MK Dov Henin (Joint List).“Never in the Knesset history [did it] happen that such a fundamental debate takes place as if it is something minor, and MKs can decide whether to show up or not. Therefore, all opposition factions decided not to cooperate with this anti-parliamentary move, especially in a bill whose lawfulness is in doubt,” he added.The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement late Monday expressing concerns over the legislation.This law “will be harmful to Israel’s image internationally and could undermine future efforts to achieving a two-state solution,” the statement said. “The bill may also trigger severe international legal repercussions.”

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`; document.getElementById("linkPremium").innerHTML = cont; (function (v, i){ }); </s> The Palestinian Authority is expected to pay the terrorist who slaughtered three members of the Salomon family NIS 12,604,000 ($3,478,015) over the course of his lifetime.



 Omar al-Abed murdered Yosef Salomon and two of his children, Elad and Chaya, and wounded Yosef’s wife, Tovah, when they were celebrating the birth of a grandson in their home. Elad’s wife hid their children in a nearby room in the house, where they heard the massacre take place. Abed was given four life sentences.





Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman released the calculations of how much the terrorists in several recent attacks are expected to be paid by the Palestinian Authority ahead of Monday’s scheduled first vote on a bill that would deduct the amount of funding for terrorists from the taxes and tariffs Israel collects for the PA.The PA paid terrorists over a billion shekels ($347 million) in 2017, and upped the amount to over NIS 1.4 billion ($403 million) in its 2018 budget.“I call on all MKs to join us and vote in favor of the law and put an end to this theater of the absurd,” Liberman said. “Every shekel sent to the murderers will be deducted from the PA tax money. We will stop funding terrorism.”The three terrorists who shot and killed Naama and Eitam Henkin in 2015 while they were driving home with their four children in the car, will receive a range of NIS 10,056,000-11,232,000 ($2,774,906-$3,099,418) over the course of their lifetimes.The lifetime estimate for terrorist payments is calculated based on if they live to age 80.Security forces arrested Abed al-Karim Adel Asi, the Israeli Arab terrorist who murdered Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal outside the settlement of Ariel, on March 18, and he has already received his first NIS 1,400 monthly payment. He is expected to receive NIS 12,604,800 ($3,478,236) during his lifetime.Three Israelis were killed in a stabbing attack in Halamish, July 21, 2017 (Reuters)The average income of a working Palestinian in the West Bank is $580 per month, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry, which is what the PA pays terrorists who are sentenced to three to five years in prison.The PA pays terrorists who are sentenced to 20 years or more in prison – in other words, those who committed more severe crimes, and likely were involved in killing Israelis – five times that each month for the rest of their lives.Terrorists who are Israeli citizens receive a $145 bonus, which, when added to the amount the PA pays for the most severe crimes, comes to over $2,900 a month, more than the average Israeli income of around $2,700. There are also increases in pay for being married and for each child a terrorist has.If a terrorist is released from prison early or dies in prison, he or his family can continue to receive a monthly salary without a time limit on how long the payments are made.The Defense Ministry bill states that the amount the PA pays terrorists each month will be deducted from the tax and tariffs Israel collects for the PA.At the end of each year, the defense minister will present a report to the Security Cabinet on how much the PA paid terrorists that year. The report will be classified, unless the minister decides to release it or parts of it.The Security Cabinet can vote not to deduct the funds or to only withhold part of the amount, "for special reasons of national security and foreign relations of the state," the bill states. This is a controversial clause, which several MKs in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee opposed.The funds that are deducted will be invested in a fund to pay damages to victims of terror, among other areas. </s> JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel's parliament has postponed a vote that would allow it to appropriate hundreds of hectares of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, the parliament's website said on Tuesday (Jan 31).

The Knesset, or parliament, on Monday (Jan 30) began to consider the Bill ahead of second and third parliamentary readings due to take place this week.

Voting will now take place next week, the Knesset website said, with Feb 6 the earliest the Bill can be passed.

Presented by the pro-settlement lobby, the Bill would retroactively legalise nearly 4,000 Jewish homes in the occupied West Bank built in contravention of Israeli law, according to the anti-settlement organisation Peace Now.

More than 800 hectares of Palestinian land would be expropriated, the organisation said.

The Palestinian owners of the land would be compensated financially or with land elsewhere.

It would be the first time Israel has applied its own civil law to land it recognises as Palestinian-owned in the West Bank, critics say.

The Bill is backed by Israel's right-wing government but has alarmed the international community and supporters of an independent Palestinian state.

The Palestine Liberation Organisation has called it a "declaration of war".

Israel's opposition leader Isaac Herzog says the law would pose a danger to Israel and could amount to annexation of parts of the West Bank, the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in 1967.

The opposition had initially demanded that debates on the Bill be spread out over 38 days, but this period was shortened, the Knesset website said.

The delay means the vote could now come in the same week as the Feb 8 deadline for the evacuation of the "outpost" settlement of Amona.

The fate of Amona, which an Israeli court demanded be demolished as it is built on private Palestinian land, was one of the key factors driving the right wing's push for the Bill.

However, Amona is not included among the 54 outposts that would be legalised, according to Peace Now.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, with much of the international community seeing them as a major obstacle to peace between Israelis and Palestinians. </s> Israel’s parliament on Monday passed a contentious law meant to retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land, a step that is expected to trigger international outrage and a flurry of lawsuits against the measure.

The explosive law is the latest in a series of pro-settler steps taken by Israel’s hard-line government since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. He is seen as more sympathetic to Israel’s settlement policies than his fiercely critical predecessor, and the Israeli government has approved plans to build thousands of new homes on occupied territory since Trump took office.

“We are voting tonight on our right to the land,” Cabinet minister Ofir Akunis said during a stormy debate ahead of the vote. “We are voting tonight on the connection between the Jewish people and its land. This whole land is ours. All of it.”

Critics say the legislation enshrines into law the theft of Palestinian land, and it is expected to be challenged in Israel’s Supreme Court. According to the law, Palestinian landowners would be compensated either with money or alternative land, even if they did not agree to give up their property.

The vote passed 60-52 in Israel’s 120-member Knesset following a raucous debate in which opposition lawmakers shouted from their seats at governing coalition lawmakers speaking in favour of the vote from the dais. Some legislators supportive of the law took pictures of the plenum during the vote while some spectators in visitors’ seats raised black cloth in apparent protest.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had voiced misgivings about the law in the lead-up to vote, reportedly expressing concern that it could lead to international censure and saying he wanted to co-ordinate with the Trump administration before moving ahead on a vote.

He told reporters on a trip to London that he had updated Washington and was ready to move ahead with the law. He was on his way back from the trip and was not present for the vote.

The White House’s immediate response was to refer to its statement last week that said the construction of new settlements “may not be helpful” in achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Netanyahu’s attorney general has called the bill unconstitutional and said he won’t defend it in the Supreme Court. Critics have warned it could drag Israel into a legal battle at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, which is already pursuing a preliminary examination into settlements.

Among the law’s problematic elements is that the West Bank is not sovereign Israeli territory and that Palestinians who live there are not citizens and do not have the right to vote for the government that imposed the law on them.

“This is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos. It is unacceptable. It is denounced and the international community should act immediately,” said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Netanyahu faced intense pressure from within his nationalist coalition, especially from the pro-settler Jewish Home party, to press ahead with the vote following the court-ordered evacuation last week of the illegal Amona outpost found to have been built on private Palestinian land. Over 40 settler families were forced to leave the 20-year-old outpost, and on Monday construction vehicles demolished and removed the trailer homes that remained behind.

Opposition legislators said Netanyahu’s support for the law was a high-stakes risk meant solely to curry favour with settler constituents and their potent political lobby.

“For how many settler votes is Netanyahu willing to pass a law that he admits will drag us to The Hague?” Zehava Galon, leader of the dovish Meretz party, wrote on Facebook ahead of the vote. “The prime minister declares that the legalization bill is dangerous for Israel and instead of standing on his hind legs to stop this shameful law, he presses ahead with it.”

After years of condemnations from the Obama administration over settlement construction, Israel’s government has ramped up settlement initiatives since Trump took office, announcing plans for some 6,000 new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and promising to build a new settlement for the Amona evacuees.

Trump has signalled a far more accepting approach to settlements, raising hopes in Netanyahu’s government that it will be able to step up construction. The White House said little as Netanyahu announced plans during Trump’s first two weeks in office to build over 6,000 new settler homes. But after Netanyahu announced his plan to establish a new settlement for the first time in two decades, Trump indicated that he, too, might have his limits.

“While we don’t believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal,” the White House said.

The Palestinians want the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip – territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war – for their future state. Much of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to reaching peace with the Palestinians. Shortly before leaving office, President Barack Obama allowed the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution declaring settlements illegal. Obama cited the Israeli outpost legislation as a reason for not vetoing the resolution.

Before the law passed, the U.N. Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, called on lawmakers to vote against the law, saying that “it will have far-reaching legal consequences for Israel and greatly diminish the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace.”
The Knesset approves by 55 votes to 14 a bill designed to confiscate payments made by the Palestinian Authority to terrorists in Israel.