Palestine Rejects US Proposal to Transfer Prisoners' Salaries to 'Social Welfare'

Security checkpoint at an Israeli prison (File photo: Reuters)
Security checkpoint at an Israeli prison (File photo: Reuters)
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Palestine Rejects US Proposal to Transfer Prisoners' Salaries to 'Social Welfare'

Security checkpoint at an Israeli prison (File photo: Reuters)
Security checkpoint at an Israeli prison (File photo: Reuters)

Palestine rejected the proposal to transfer the salaries of Palestinian prisoners to the Ministry of Social Affairs, a Palestinian official asserted.

Hassan Abd Rabbo, an official in the Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees, said that transferring the salaries is rejected.

Abed Rabbo told Asharq Al-Awsat that it is not the first proposal of this kind, but they are all rejected.

"They want to insult the struggle of the Palestinians through their suggestions," he said, adding that the detainees are fighters, not social cases.

Israeli N12 Channel reported that the US administration asked the Palestinian Authority (PA) to stop paying the salaries of detainees or ex-detainees and transfer the payments to social care within three years.

As part of the proposal, the US pledged to President Mahmoud Abbas to appoint a legal advisor to represent the PA in Washington as an alternative to reopening the PLO office in Washington, which was closed by the former administration.

The report stated there isn't any official confirmation to the offer yet, but PA sources said security prisoners above 60 years would be announced as retirees from the Authority's apparatus and receive allowances, while others will remain employees.

A senior Palestinian source stressed to N12 that Abbas understands that pressure will result in halting payments of prisoners' families, but the President is looking for a way to continue and transfer the money without criticism of Israel and Western countries.

The issue was discussed between Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Abbas during their last meeting.

Gantz raised two main issues, namely, the salaries of prisoners and the prosecution of Israel in The Hague.

The same issue was discussed between the Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs, Hussein al-Sheikh, and the Israeli Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, in their meeting a few days ago.

The Commission of Detainees Affairs is responsible for inmates inside and outside prisons and initially was a ministry.

The Authority became part of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), not the Palestinian government.

Last year, the Authority transferred the released prisoners to the ministries, agencies, and affiliated agencies. Many detainees were referred to retirement to end disputes with Israel and the US administration over their salaries.

The PA pays allowances starting from 2,000 Israeli shekels for the released prisoners, which increases according to the number of years of imprisonment.

It pays allowances starting from 4,000 shekels for detainees and may reach 8,000 and 12,000 shekels for those who spent more than 20 and 30 years in prison.

Tel Aviv deducts money from the tax revenues of the PA to compensate for payments that the Israelis say are "payment for murder," in reference to the salaries paid to families of martyrs and prisoners.

The salaries issue has been an ongoing crisis since July 2018.



Syria’s New Rulers Name Abu Qasra as Defense Minister

Head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa sits next to Murhaf Abu Qasra, who according to an official source has been appointed as Defense Minister in Syria's interim government, in Damascus, Syria in this handout image released on December 21, 2024. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
Head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa sits next to Murhaf Abu Qasra, who according to an official source has been appointed as Defense Minister in Syria's interim government, in Damascus, Syria in this handout image released on December 21, 2024. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
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Syria’s New Rulers Name Abu Qasra as Defense Minister

Head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa sits next to Murhaf Abu Qasra, who according to an official source has been appointed as Defense Minister in Syria's interim government, in Damascus, Syria in this handout image released on December 21, 2024. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
Head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa sits next to Murhaf Abu Qasra, who according to an official source has been appointed as Defense Minister in Syria's interim government, in Damascus, Syria in this handout image released on December 21, 2024. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)

Syria's new rulers have appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the opposition which toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government, an official source said on Saturday.

Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which led the campaign that ousted Assad this month. He led numerous military operations during Syria's revolution, the source said according to Reuters.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed "the form of the military institution in the new Syria" during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported.

Abu Qasra during the meeting sat next to Sharaa, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, photos published by SANA showed.

Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said this week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former opposition factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.

Bashir, who formerly led an HTS-affiliated administration in the northwestern province of Idlib, has said he will lead a three-month transitional government. The new administration has not declared plans for what will happen after that.

Earlier on Saturday, the ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step "comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability".

Shibani, a 37-year-old graduate of Damascus University, previously led the political department of the opposition’s Idlib government, the General Command said.

Sharaa's group was part of al-Qaeda until he broke ties in 2016. It had been confined to Idlib for years until going on the offensive in late November, sweeping through the cities of western Syria and into Damascus as the army melted away.

Sharaa has met with a number of international envoys this week. He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.

Syrian opposition fighters seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family's decades-long rule.

Washington designated Sharaa a terrorist in 2013, saying al-Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad's rule in Syria. US officials said on Friday that Washington would remove a $10 million bounty on his head.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, caused one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times and left cities bombed to rubble and the economy hollowed out by global sanctions.