RAMALLAH, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Sunday slammed Israel for attempting to deduct from the Palestinian tax revenues the financial allocations for the families of Palestinian "victims of Israeli occupation."
Eassa Qaraqe, head of PLO Detainees Affairs Commission, told Xinhua that the Israeli move is "against human rights, violates international humanitarian law, and proof that Israel is anti-democratic, racist and anti-human."
Qaraqe made the remarks after Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in a tweet on his personal twitter account that an Israeli ministerial committee approved his bill proposing to deduct the money allocated for the Palestinian victims' families from the Palestinian tax revenues collected by Israel.
"Whatever pressure and political blackmail this law would be, we are committed to our position and the position of the Palestinian leadership, that we will not let go of the families of those killed, detained or injured and will continue to deal with them as victims of Israeli occupation," he said.
The families of the Palestinians who are detained, wounded and killed by Israel usually receive a monthly payment from the PLO funds.
Qaraqe said that those Palestinian families are "protected under the international law and the Geneva Conventions," adding that the Palestinians will not be "subject to unjust Israeli laws."
After the approval by the ministerial committee, the Israeli bill proposed by Lieberman, which is one of three on the same topic, will be discussed soon at the Knesset (Parliament).
Under the Oslo accords, Israel collects tax revenues on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and transfers the money to PA on a monthly basis. Israel often withholds the transfer as a way to apply pressure on the PA.
