Prompted by Israel calls to condemn the Palestinian Authority for rewarding terrorism, the Dutch Parliament will host an event later this week to hear from prominent activists who are spreading awareness about the so-called “pay-to-slay” initiative.
Director of the Israel-based nongovernmental organization Palestinian Media Watch Itamar Marcus and terror-attack survivor Kay Wilson will travel to the Hague to address Dutch politicians about the P.A. giving convicted terrorists and their families huge salaries. Marcus and Wilson were invited by Dutch parliament member Joël Voordewind, who invited Marcus and Wilson, and will be chairing the discussion.
Stern has called on “the Parliament of the Netherlands to send a clear message that the P.A. must stop financially rewarding the terrorists.”
The Netherlands gives more than $14.8 million annually to UNRWA, the United Nations agency that deals with the Palestinian refugee issue. The United States cut its funding to UNRWA in September.
“It is important to update the Dutch Parliament that the P.A. has ignored all resolutions demanding they stop rewarding terror,” said Marcus. “While in some years the P.A. attempted to deceive the international community and conceal the payments, in its 2018 budget, the P.A. openly allocated 1.2 billion shekels [288,000,000 euros] for payments to terrorist prisoners and families of ‘martyrs.’ ”
Following Marcus’s 2013 visit to Holland to meet with legislators about the issue, two parliamentary motions passed by overwhelming majorities: one calling for the Dutch government to increase pressure on the P.A. to end rewarding convicted Palestinian prisoners; and the second calling on the parliament to cease funding groups that promote anti-Semitism.