Israel Matzav

How it pays to be a terrorist

I've reported several times on payments by the 'Palestinian Authority' to terrorists held in Israeli prisons. In Friday's Yisrael HaYom, Nadav Shragai (who has apparently left Haaretz) has a lengthy report with all the gory details. Here's the key: By 'law,' 'Palestinian' terrorists in Israeli prisons earn more than people who actually work for the 'Palestinian Authority'(Hat Tip: Amnon N).

The monthly salary that the authority pays out to jailed terrorists -- a sum that far exceeds the average salary in the West Bank -- is distributed directly to their families. The more grave the crime and the more severe the prison sentence, the higher the monthly payment. Now, as Israel marks five years since Gilad Shalit was taken captive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the authority has increased the prisoners’ salaries for the third time. Karake has stated that the salary rise, which is earmarked for “civilian public sector workers as well as military veterans,” will be handed out retroactively. Just one week after their terrorist brethren murdered Israeli civilians in the south, there is a greater interest in examining this issue.

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It seems that from a financial point of view, it pays to be a Palestinian prisoner. How much does it pay? Earlier this month, two veteran researchers from Palestinian Media Watch provided government ministers with detailed information on the subject. The researchers, Nan Jacques Zilberdik and Itamar Marcus, were the first to reveal the numerous legal clauses and terminology that govern the distribution of salaries to prisoners and their families.

It should be noted that these payments constitute a regular worker’s wage, or “rateb,” as it is known in Arabic. Those who are eligible for these payments include “anyone who is sitting in an occupation prison [Israel] due to their participation in the struggle against occupation.” According to the first article of the Palestinian Prisoner Law 2004/19, a car thief who is jailed in an Israeli prison will not receive a stipend, but Fatah and Hamas operatives who are incarcerated over their involvement in terrorism and murder will receive a monthly salary. According to Marcus and Zilberdik, Israeli Arabs, or as they are known in the authority, “the inside Arabs,” who are convicted of terrorist attacks against Israel would be eligible for an even more handsome wage.

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The average Palestinian earns NIS 2,882 ($778) per month in the civilian job market.

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Yehiye Sanwar, who founded Hamas’ security mechanism on the orders of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, is serving a life sentence in an Israeli prison. He has been incarcerated for 24 years, during which he managed to earn academic degrees in the Arabic language as well as Jewish history. He and his family receive a monthly wage of NIS 8,000 ($2,160). Beginning next year, his 25th in prison, the salary will leap to NIS 10,000 ($2,700) per month.

The monthly salary is not the only benefit enjoyed by the prisoners and their families. The report authored by Marcus and Zilberdik offers a detailed list of benefits and incentives that are specifically earmarked for terrorists. By government order, Palestinian prisoners receive wholly subsidized academic studies at any institute of higher learning that accepts them.

If a prisoner is sentenced to at least 20 years in jail and he or she has served at least five years, their children receive an 80 percent discount on college tuition payments. All Palestinian prisoners who are released from jail after serving at least five years are exempt from paying government health insurance fees. The prisoners also receive a NIS 400 ($108) stipend twice annually as well as subsidized legal fees if they are brought before a court. Even the wife, or, in some cases, wives, and children of a prisoner are entitled to special benefits.

Hundreds of Palestinians from East Jerusalem and Israeli Arabs who were found to have taken part in terrorist attacks receive additional perks. A group of young Arabs from Nazareth who founded an Islamist terror cell that was responsible for the murder of an Israeli Jewish taxi driver and the planning of more attacks receive an additional NIS 300 ($81) to NIS 500 ($135) per month.

These payments are sent directly to the families of the prisoners, and their eligibility is determined by whether they were convicted of terrorist activities that resulted in lengthy prison terms. The Israel Prison Service does not allow the prisoners’ families to bring money or belongings to their loved ones, although they do allow the transfer of small sums of money. By agreement with the Palestinian Authority, this money is transferred directly to the prisoners through an Israeli company.

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Zilberdik points out that the Palestinian statute makes no mention of the families’ economic needs. Rather, it determines the salary according to the number of years the prisoner has been incarcerated. “In contrast with a stipend, the families of ‘shahids’ [martyrs] are explicitly eligible for a ‘wage,’ or, in Arabic, ‘rateb,’” she said. “The Palestinian Authority pays them salaries because it views them as heroes and role models.”

Read the whole thing. Be outraged (because you should be - you are paying for this). And then contact your government representatives.

And mind you, these payments are just to the terrorists that Israel has caught. That is aside from the 'Palestinian Authority' payments to Hamas (to pay its employees in Gaza) and to Fatah employees in Gaza (the Fatah employees are paid to stay home).

Where's the outrage? Where is the monitoring of how moneys distributed to the 'Palestinian Authority' are spent?

Labels: Arab terrorist worship, prisoner salaries, your taxes at work

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:55 AM