Palestinians are in an uproar over the revelation that Jordanian-based Cairo-Amman Bank has suddenly closed the accounts of Palestinians who are getting salaries from the PLO for their terror activities.
Former prisoners who are guaranteed a lifetime salary, indexed to the number of Jews they killed, were surprised that their ATM cards were disabled. They then received notices from the bank saying they should transfer their funds to other banks.
This decision by the bank appears to have been a reaction to the IDF saying that it will start to crack down on terror financing starting May 9, which now defines paying terrorists as a prohibited terror financing operation.
Palestinian Media Watch sent a series of letters to presidents of banks that operate in the territories warning them that by facilitating these payments they can open themselves up to personal criminal liability, and they can expose their banks to civil lawsuits from terror victims and seizure of the accounts.
Recently, the Palestinian Authority has tried to hide its budget item to pay prisoners from European auditors, by laundering the payments through a general fund of payments to its parent PLO organization. The same amount that they proudly mentioned in last year’s budget going to the PA Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs, which pays the lifetime salaries, has been added to the unauditable “PLO Institutions.”
The Gaza Ministry of Prisoners Affairs reacted furiously at the news. Hamas called to boycott the Cairo Amman Bank. The PFLP condemned the news, saying that Palestinian banks must adhere to national principles – which include glorifying and paying terrorists and their families.
Only three affected families were named. Two were former prisoners who now have lifetime “jobs” with the PA, and one was the wife of a current prisoner in Israel.
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