Reply to written question about payments to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons

Translated from the Norwegian

 

From Member of the Storting Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (Christian Democratic Party) to the Minster of Foreign Affairs:

In September 2012, I asked the Foreign Minister if it was true that terrorists serving sentences in Israeli prisons received higher payments they longer their sentence. Thee Foreign Minister replied that, “direct support provided to the prisoners is used to cover canteen expenses”. A report on the NRK news on 28 February suggests that the Minister’s answer was misleading. Can the Minister confirm this, and if so provide additional and more accurate information about the payments to terrorists?

The Foreign Minister’s reply:

I refer to the reply given by the Foreign Minister at the time, Mr Støre, to the question from Member of the Storting Ropstad, Document no. 15:1876 (2011–2012), on 10 September 2012, and the question from Member of the Storting Syversen, Document no. 15:1905 (2010–2011), on 15 September 2011.

First a bit of background information: the question of the status of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons is part of the broader Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Many of the Palestinian prisoners sentenced in Israeli courts have committed serious crimes. Anyone who aids and abets terrorist attacks must be held accountable before a court of law. At the same time, all legal processes must be in accordance with international rules.

Norway’s engagement in the Middle East aims to promote peace through a two-state solution. Budget support to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is an important instrument in this process. Here we are working closely with the US, the EU and several European and Arab countries. The EU provides the largest contributions, and the US is the next largest donor. In recent years, Norway has been in sixth or seventh place in terms of the total funding provided. Norway also chairs the donor forum, the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), which coordinates these efforts.

Together with the other donors, we provide budget support to the PA. The total budget support from all donors amounts to around a quarter of the PA’s total budget. Other sources of revenue are taxes collected by the PA and custom and tax revenues that are collected by Israel on behalf of the PA under an agreement.

It is the PA that decides how this budget support is to be used. Most of the money we provide is used to pay teachers, health workers, police officers and other government employees. However, it is vital for us and for the other donors to set clear requirements for the use of this budget support, and the Palestinian authorities are responsible for documenting that these requirements are met.

Norway coordinates the budget support with the other donors. The World Bank’s requirements and control routines apply. The World Bank administers the fund and makes the payments. Payments are contingent on the PA implementing concrete, agreed reforms in the areas of financial management, governance, cuts in public spending and subsidies. Norway could start earmarking its contribution, but it would not then be possible to transfer this money via the World Bank fund together with the money from the other donors. In that case, Norway would have to establish its own extensive control regime independent of our partners, and this is not considered to be expedient. We have also found that the fact that the donors are a united group makes it easier to exert an influence on the recipients than it would be if each donor was administering its own economic support.

So to the question about payments to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. According to the PA, these payments are not wages, but direct support for the prisoners’ canteen expenses and social welfare payments for their families. These social welfare payments are intended to compensate for loss of income in cases where the main provider is no longer able to support his or her family.

We and the other donors have been informed of this previously, and it was again confirmed by Prime Minister Fayyad in a meeting that Norwegian representatives had with him last week. At this meeting, we also raised the issue of the way this money is used and the amount of support provided to prisoners, and we made it very clear that Norway finds aspects of this situation problematic. We also received new information, which differs from information previously given by the PA. We also made it clear that we find this unfortunate.

The Norwegian representatives announced at this meeting that Norway and the UK would send a joint letter to the PA asking for more details and further clarifications.

The Foreign Minister at the time, Jonas Gahr Støre, informed the Storting that the amount of support given to prisoners depended on the number of children in their family and the length of their sentence. On the basis of information from the PA, Mr Støre also informed the Storting that Palestinian prisoners in Palestinian and Israeli prisons receive social welfare payments. According to the Palestinian authorities this is still the case.

There are, however, several different schemes and channels for providing social support to Palestinian prisoners and their families. The Palestinian authorities also refer to payments made to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons by the Israeli authorities. I assume these are prisoners who are either Israeli citizens or have an Israeli ID card as they live in East Jerusalem and pay tax to Israel.

We have relatively recently – after Mr Støre answered the Members of the Storting – received information that indicates that the differences in terms of means testing and channels for support are greater than we had assumed on the basis of previous information from the PA. It is unfortunate that the information given to the Storting, which was based on information provided by the PA at the time, has subsequently been found to be inaccurate.

The scheme that encompasses around 4 600 Palestinian prisoners who have been sentenced by Israeli military courts differs more than previously thought from other social welfare schemes. This is the reason why Norway and the UK are sending a joint letter to the PA requesting clarification.

I would like to point out that the group of Palestinians who have been sentenced by Israeli military courts is very diverse and includes minors who have been throwing stones, elected representatives of Hamas and long-term prisoners sentenced for terrorism. I would also like to remind the Storting that a number of questions have been raised about the basis for and conditions of the imprisonment of several of the prisoners concerned, including whether they are in accordance with human rights and international humanitarian law.

If the PA’s reply to the letter from Norway and the UK gives additional information or clarifications that differ from the information given to the Storting in 2011 and 2012, I will update the Storting in a suitable way.

 

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