Tel-Chai Nation

Finance minister Smotrich intends to keep the PLO from having immunity to lawsuits, and also combat Israeli banks who allow any deals with them that can enable terror funding. His steps are also a reaction to Joe Biden going after far less troubling Israelis with sanctions:

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is threatening to paralyze the Palestinian Authority's economy in response to the Biden administration's actions against Israeli residents and outposts in Judea and Samaria.

Israel Hayom has learned that Smotrich is refusing to renew signing a document that provides the PA immunity from lawsuits filed involving Israel's Discount Bank and Bank Hapoalim, which have financial ties with Palestinian entities.

Without this protection, the Israeli banks are expected to cut ties with Palestinian banks out of fear of being exposed to lawsuits for transferring funds to terror groups. Since the Palestinian Authority's economy relies on ties with Israel, this would mean an immediate freeze on economic activity in the PA.

Smotrich's threat comes in response to the sanctions imposed by the US on seven Israeli settlers, which has resulted in banks freezing their accounts.

The US has strict laws against money laundering used for terror, and a special authority conducts international campaigns against bodies that provide financial assistance to terror groups. Since the Palestinian Authority and its financial institutions are suspected by the US of being involved in terror, the US itself avoids direct contact with them to avoid violating the law. However, politically, the existence of the PA is very important to the administration for stability purposes in the region, so it has refrained from taking legal action against it.

Discount Bank and Bank Hapoalim have been asking the governments for years to cut ties with the Palestinian Authority due to the fear of being sued. To accommodate them, Israel has established a government correspondence company back in 2018. However, this company has also sought to sever ties with the PA and therefore has not been able to replace the Israeli banks in transacting with the PA.

The challenging query is why do any business with them at all? The bank managements should be able to decide about severing all ties with the PLO, and this way overdue. Good on Smotrich if he does what's possible to reverse this situation.

Labels: anti-semitism, dhimmitude, islam, Israel, jihad, Knesset, misogyny, Moonbattery, political corruption, racism, sexual violence, terrorism, United States, war on terror