By: Fern Sidman

In a landmark move concluding a protracted legal battle, Israel has transferred 110 million shekels — roughly $29 million — in frozen Palestinian Authority (P.A.) tax revenues to 52 Palestinians who were arrested and tortured by the P.A. for assisting Israeli security forces in preventing terrorist attacks. The payout, reported widely in Hebrew media on Tuesday, marks a rare and decisive step in providing restitution to those who, despite their Palestinian identity, worked directly to safeguard Israeli lives.

According to a report that appeared on The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) web site, the transfer followed years of litigation in the Jerusalem District Court led by the Arbus, Kedem, Tzur law firm. The firm has represented numerous Palestinian victims subjected to violent reprisals by the P.A., as well as Israeli victims of terrorism.

“This is a dramatic step by the State of Israel,” attorneys Barak Kedem and Aryeh Arbus told Israel National News, as cited by JNS. “Even today, dozens of Palestinians come to our office who were tortured by Abu Mazen’s P.A., solely because they helped Israel prevent terrorism,” they said, referring to Mahmoud Abbas, the P.A. president. “It is important that everyone out there who helps Israel in various ways knows that, when the time comes, Israel will assist them.”

The decision to release the funds reflects a policy shift in Jerusalem. A spokesman for Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told JNS that court rulings requiring the P.A. to compensate terror victims or Palestinians persecuted for aiding Israel are now executed without delay. Payments are deducted directly from the monthly tax revenues Israel collects on the P.A.’s behalf under the terms of the Oslo Accords.

Israel currently transfers between 600 million and 700 million shekels ($162 million to $189 million) to the P.A. each month in tax and tariff revenues, as stipulated by those accords. “For years, the Palestinian Authority encouraged terror without paying a price. No more,” Smotrich’s spokesman stated to JNS, adding that billions of shekels in verdicts have already been enforced.

The lawsuits rested on a pivotal 2021 Supreme Court ruling that determined Israeli courts have jurisdiction to hear claims against the P.A., which the court ruled does not enjoy sovereign immunity. This precedent opened the door for Palestinians who had been detained and tortured by the P.A. to seek redress through the Israeli legal system.

Medical files submitted in the suits revealed harrowing accounts of abuse. According to the JNS report, victims were beaten with rifles, batons, and electric cables, denied sleep and access to toilet facilities, forced to ingest soap, and had their teeth broken. Family members were threatened, creating a climate of fear designed to break both the individual and his community ties.

Judge Miriam Ilany of the Jerusalem District Court ruled in December that the P.A. bore direct responsibility for “the unlawful imprisonment and torture of the cooperators,” describing the acts as “a blatant violation of basic human rights.”

“It is hard to believe that the Israeli courts would recognize a defense that cooperation with Israel is an act of treason in favor of the Israeli enemy,” Ilany stated in her verdict. “In addition, those acts of ‘treason’ were intended to prevent acts of terrorism against Israel and against Israelis, which the P.A. pledged to prevent in the [Oslo Accords] interim agreement.”

The 1990s Oslo Accords, signed between Israel and then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, created the P.A. and assigned it responsibility for counterterrorism in certain areas of Judea and Samaria. The agreement was intended to establish limited Palestinian self-governance while ensuring security coordination with Israel.

However, as JNS reported, the P.A.’s human rights record in dealing with suspected “collaborators” has been widely criticized. Palestinians accused of aiding Israel often face secret detention, brutal interrogation, and, in some cases, extrajudicial killings.

The P.A. today maintains one of the largest per capita security forces in the world — a force trained and equipped in part by the United States and other Western governments. International backers have argued that this apparatus is vital for maintaining stability in the West Bank. Yet the JNS report noted that its track record includes extensive documented abuses, particularly toward Palestinians who cooperate with Israeli intelligence to prevent terrorist acts.

The question of the P.A.’s future role in the region has taken on new urgency amid ongoing discussions over Gaza’s governance once the war against Hamas concludes. Several Western governments have floated the idea of the P.A. assuming administrative control in the Strip. However, Jerusalem has publicly resisted this option, citing the P.A.’s corruption, incitement to violence, and treatment of those who work to protect Israelis from terrorism.

This latest court-enforced payout will likely intensify debate over whether the P.A. can be trusted to uphold human rights and security commitments if given a broader mandate.

For the 52 Palestinians receiving compensation, the payments are more than financial restitution; they serve as an acknowledgment of their suffering and sacrifices. Many were imprisoned for extended periods, some sustaining lasting injuries from beatings, electric shocks, and other forms of torture.

Attorneys Kedem and Arbus stressed to JNS that the decision carries a broader symbolic message: Israel is willing and able to protect — and reward — those who help foil terrorist plots, even if they are Palestinian residents of territories under P.A. control.

The Finance Ministry’s willingness to enforce court rulings through deductions from the P.A.’s tax revenues represents a notable departure from previous practice. In the past, judgments against the P.A. often went unenforced due to political sensitivities and the risk of destabilizing Ramallah’s finances.

Smotrich’s office told JNS that those concerns are now outweighed by the imperative to hold the P.A. financially accountable for its actions. “Every time the court issues a ruling, we will execute it, without exception,” the spokesman said.

The payouts also highlight a contradiction at the heart of the P.A.’s international image. While it receives significant foreign aid and enjoys diplomatic recognition from much of the world, the JNS report emphasized that it stands accused of systemic violations of the rights of its own people — particularly those perceived as politically disloyal.

Human rights organizations have long criticized the P.A. for arbitrary arrests, suppression of free speech, and torture. The latest case, backed by extensive medical documentation and court findings, adds judicial weight to those allegations.

By releasing 110 million shekels to Palestinians tortured for helping prevent terrorism, Israel has not only honored a legal obligation but also sent a pointed political message — to both the Palestinian Authority and to would-be cooperators. This decision enforces accountability in a tangible way, leveraging the financial mechanisms established under the Oslo Accords to ensure that victims of P.A. abuses receive compensation.

The case also sets a precedent for future claims, potentially opening the door to further payouts funded by withheld P.A. tax revenues. At the same time, it raises broader questions about the P.A.’s fitness to administer territory, its adherence to human rights standards, and the durability of the security cooperation framework established more than a quarter-century ago.