US State Dept. slams Smotrich’s transfer of $134 million from PA’s frozen funds to terror victims

NEW YORK – In a Thursday afternoon post on X, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that he signed an order transferring about $134 million from the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) frozen funds to victims of terrorism.

Smotrich described the order, which he signed on Sunday, as an act of “historical justice,” saying that the PA “encourages and favors terrorism by paying the families of terrorists, prisoners, and released prisoners.”

“By the judgments that awarded compensation to the victims of terrorism, we offset the same amounts from the PA’s funds and transfer the awarded money to the families of the victims of terrorism,” Smotrich added.

On Thursday, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller described Smotrich’s order as “not appropriate” and “an extraordinarily wrongheaded decision by the minister.”

US State Department criticizes move by Smotrich 

“We have made quite clear to the government of Israel that these funds belong to the Palestinian people. They should be transferred to the Palestinian Authority immediately,” Miller stressed. “They should not have been held. They should not be delayed.

“The money belongs to the Palestinian people, and it’s important that [they] have the ability to fund their government to pursue activities as they deem fit,” Miller further stated.

“But also, the case that we have made to Israel is that this kind of decision is extraordinarily self-defeating,” Miller added. “It doesn’t just hurt the Palestinian people; it hurts Israel as well.”

According to Miller, the PA has worked incredibly hard to maintain calm and stability in the West Bank over the years, especially since October 7.

“And this kind of action by the Israeli government risks destabilizing the West Bank and further harming Israel’s security,” he said.

The Jerusalem Post reached out to a spokesperson for Smotrich for comment.