The Political Security Cabinet meeting this morning, held in the IDF Central Headquarters in Tel Aviv, approved the plan for transferring frozen funds from the Palestinian Authority to Norway.
The plan presented to the cabinet, at the request of the United States of America, states that the funds intended for the Gaza Strip will be transferred to a third party. The total amount is approximately 275M shekels every month.
According to the approved plan, one-third of the money will be held in a Norwegian account with no possibility of being transferred to Palestinians without the approval of the Israeli Finance Minister.
During the vote among the ministers, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir opposed the plan.
During the deliberations, the ministers were informed that the plan was an American request to resolve the dilemma regarding the remaining funds and allow them to be moved to the Palestinian Authority.
According to the plan produced by Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Ron Dermer, the first condition will be that the third party announces that it respects the decisions of the Israeli cabinet, according to which there is to be no transfer of funds for Gaza to the Palestinian Authority so that it will not transfer the funds to Gaza.
This principle, according to which no money at all will be transferred to Gaza, will be guaranteed by the USA, which indicates that the USA supports the plan.
Sources involved in the negotiations told Arutz Sheva - Israel National News that over the past few weeks, Smotrich has repeatedly agreed to transfer the money to American custody, but the Americans have refused because they would be forbidden from sending the money to the Palestinian Authority due to the Taylor Force Act to stop American economic aid to the Palestinian Authority until the PA ceases paying stipends, through the Palestinian Authority Martyr's Fund, to individuals who commit acts of terrorism and to the families of deceased terrorists.
Smotrich claimed that the Americans could not demand of him something that was forbidden to them by their own laws.
Smotrich and Dermer also insisted that there be no alternative methods used to move money to the Palestinian Authority and Gaza, including loans or third-party grants.
According to the plan, Norway will send a monthly letter in which its Finance Minister reaffirms the conditions of the plan.
Any violation of the plan will allow Smotrich to immediately stop the transfer of funds to the Palestinian Authority, including those not intended for Gaza. This condition has also been approved by the USA.
Minister Ben-Gvir wrote after the meeting: “Unfortunately, Prime Minister Netanyahu is continually moving his limits. First, they allowed fuel, then they gave in on humanitarian concessions in exchange for other humanitarian concessions. Last week they began sending trucks of flour in. Now they are agreeing to a plan that does not guarantee that the money will not reach the Nazis in Gaza. Unfortunately, the right also includes those who are still influenced by the misconception, among them those who think that good solutions will come from Norway.” The statement was a veiled reference to the Oslo Accords, which originated during clandestine negotiations in Oslo, Norway.