Middle East Monitor / March 24, 2021
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is to pay prisoners’ salaries at the post office from this month, the head of the Prisoners and Released Prisoners’ Affairs Qadri Abu Baker said yesterday.
Speaking to Anadolu, he said the PA is taking the step after Israel warned Palestinian banks against holding accounts of prisoners and their families.
To avoid Israeli sanctions, the Palestinian banks were forced to close the accounts by the end of 2020.
According to Anadolu, the prisoners and their families can now go to the post office and receive their salaries at the end of every month until there is ATM service for the government facilities.
In February 2019, Israel cut 542 million shekels ($133 million) – the salaries of the prisoners, freed prisoners, wounded, and families of people killed by Israeli forces – from the tax revenues it collects on behalf of the PA.
One year later, Israeli occupation authorities called on Palestinian banks to stop paying the stipends to recipients, saying this was illegal and could lead to sanctions.
