New Law: Palestinian Authority to Pay for Damages Caused by Terror Attacks

The Knesset plenum today (Monday) approved, in its second and third readings, a bill by MK Avichai Boaron establishing that Israel will deduct funds each year from transfers to the Palestinian Authority, in accordance with the scope of compensation paid to terror victims and for war damages. The funds will be transferred as compensation to terror victims and to cover existing compensation debts, and the remainder will be transferred to the state treasury.

The bill, which allows funds paid by the Palestinian Authority in connection with terror to be frozen from the money transferred to it by the Israeli government, passed by a majority of 29 Knesset members מול five opponents.

Under the new law, each year an amount determined by the Ministerial Committee for National Security Affairs will be deducted from the funds transferred to the Palestinian Authority. The amount of the deduction will be based on a report submitted by the finance minister, detailing payments transferred in the previous year to victims of hostile acts through the National Insurance Institute, as well as compensation paid from the Property Tax Compensation Fund for war damages.

The report will also include compensation awarded to terror victims by the courts, including under the exemplary damages law, as well as unpaid compensation debts owed to victims of terror offenses.

MK Boaron said: "This is the simplest and most just law. The Palestinian Authority, which is responsible for the damage vicariously, has not been brought to justice and no one has required it to answer for the damage it caused. This law tells the Authority: you cause damage, and we will charge you for that money. Israeli blood and Israeli property are not ownerless."