The report notes documentation of payment collection from Palestinian postal branches. It was further noted that terrorists who were released in the deal received salaries throughout their time in prison, and some even received additional grants from the Authority after their release.
An Israeli intelligence delegation that traveled to Brussels, classified reports delivered to Israeli ambassadors in European capitals, and a broad advocacy campaign – this is how Israel succeeded in changing the European Union's stance toward the Palestinian Authority, and forced Europeans to publicly acknowledge for the first time that Abbas continues paying salaries to terrorists, despite his commitment to stop.
At the end of November, a meeting was held in Brussels between senior Palestinian Authority officials and representatives of donor countries. On the agenda: examining the reforms the Authority committed to implement – chief among them stopping payments to terrorists and their families, a reform the Palestinians declared had already been carried out. The Authority's commitment to reforms didn't stem from goodwill, but from financial distress. Unlike the past, the Europeans decided to stop serving as an "open wallet" and conditioned continued aid – hundreds of millions of euros – on meeting commitments.
A day before the meeting, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar issued an unusually detailed declaration: The Authority not only hasn't stopped payments to terrorists – it has actually increased them. The only change: instead of transferring the money through a designated fund, the Authority found alternative and covert channels. (Read More)
