The highest amount to date: The Jerusalem District Court issued a seizure order today (Tuesday) for half a billion shekels against the Palestinian Authority as part of a lawsuit by families of terror victims. The lawsuit and the seizure are under the law for compensating terror victims that came into effect last June.
The law legislates compensation of 10 million shekels for the families of those murdered in a terrorist attack and 5 million shekels for those disabled as a result of a terrorist attack. The law also applies to soldiers and the families of IDF casualties. This concerns cases where the Palestinian Authority is at least involved in compensating the terrorists involved in the terrorist attack and their families through salary payments. The law also regulates how the process of collecting the funds from the authority will be carried out.
Attorney Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, President of the "Shurat HaDin" organization, responded to the court's decision today: "The relentless struggle against terrorism continues at all times, even within the walls of the court. I welcome this unprecedented seizure, a decision that ensures that the victims of terrorism will receive the full compensation they deserve, and that the Palestinian Authority will pay a very high price for its support of terrorism. It is a relentless struggle of grief, but in the end, we succeed in achieving justice.
"The new law provides the State of Israel with the most effective tool for fighting terrorism," she added. "We will continue with all our might to dry up the oxygen supply of terrorism and even prevent the next 7.10."
Smotrich: "A combined struggle against terror funding and incitement by the PA"
As a reminder, in 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that the payment of salaries to security prisoners by the Palestinian Authority constitutes an endorsement of involvement in terrorism.
At the beginning of August last year, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich signed the registration of seizure orders worth a total of 100 million NIS from the Palestinian Authority and explained that "the fight against terrorism is not just a military struggle but a combined effort that includes a war against the incitement of the Palestinian Authority and the terrorist funds it allocates from its budget to the families of terrorists."
Smotrich also continued and announced that this policy will continue as long as the authority continues inciting terrorism: "As I have acted since I took office, court rulings against the Palestinian Authority are immediately transferred from the funds transferred to the Palestinian Authority and are allocated to compensate the families of terror victims. We will continue to protect the security of Israeli citizens and fight terrorism and its supporters with all the tools at our disposal."
Additionally, at the end of September, the Supreme Court ruled that the Palestinian Authority would pay 40 million NIS to bereaved families. Attorney Chaim Bleicher, head of the Victims of Terror Department at the Honenu organization, stated at the time: "The new law allows us to redirect the energy invested in terrorism, to strike at its fuel pipeline, and to begin rehabilitating the victims of terrorism. As part of supporting the victims of terrorism in their struggle against the terrorists, we also stand at the forefront of this battle."
