PA confirms ploy to continue paying salaries to terrorists and avoid Western donors' criticism.

PA confirms ploy to continue paying salaries to terrorists and avoid Western donors' criticism. HT: Palwatch. By Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik.

PA government spokesman affirms that changing name of PA "Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs" into PLO "Authority of Prisoners' Affairs" will not affect salaries to prisoners "

[The change] will provide political and legal cover... it eliminates arguments... that [foreign] aid money [to the PA] is going to the prisoners" 

 "The Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs... has third largest monthly budget in the PA... Over 40 million shekels (12 million dollars) a month, which the PA pays the prisoners, the released prisoners and their families." [Official PA TV, June 11, 2014]

Palestinian Media Watch reported this month that the Palestinian Authority had devised a ploy to avoid criticism from donor countries for its policy of paying salaries to terrorists.

PA government spokesman Ehab Bessaiso has since confirmed this ploy in an interview on official PA TV. Bessaiso explained that the change of "the Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs" under the PA into "the Authority of Prisoners' Affairs" under the PLO would "provide political and legal cover" and "eliminate arguments ... that [foreign] aid money [to the PA] is going to the prisoners."

Furthermore, when the PA TV host summarized the change by saying, "The [prisoners'] salaries will continue to flow... nothing will harm the prisoners; their rights - under a ministry that became an authority - will remain the same," the government spokesman confirmed that this was correct. [Official PA TV, June 5, 2014] (See longer excerpt below)

At a Fatah press conference, Fatah Central Committee member Azzam Al-Ahmad also confirmed that the change was decided on "following international pressure aimed at preventing the payments to the prisoners." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 11, 2014]

Al-Ahmad added there had been "attempts on the part of the donors to exert pressure [on us] to stop the payments to the prisoners in the occupation prisons, causing us to transfer the issue of the prisoners back to the prisoners' and Martyrs' (Shahids') original mother [organization] (the PLO) [parenthesis in source]." He also confirmed that "a decision has been made to turn the ministry into an authority, and this will be done upon completion of the [necessary] measures."

The planned new "Authority of Prisoners' Affairs" has not yet been established, and the Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs is currently still functioning, but with Minister Shawqi Issa replacing former Minister Issa Karake under the new Fatah-Hamas unity government.

"The Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs established under the PA has the third largest monthly budget in the PA. It's the third largest PA government ministry. Over 40 million shekels (i.e., 12 million dollars) a month, which the PA pays the prisoners, the released prisoners and their families."

Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf explained in an interview that the PA Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs has "the third biggest monthly budget" of all ministries in the PA: Read and see the full story here.