The Israeli Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, struck down a petition on Wednesday that claimed the previous government illegally transferred 500 million shekels (more than $140 million) to the Palestinian Authority.

The petition was filed by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), an Israel-based nongovernmental organization and media watchdog group, in June of last year. The petition claimed that the money was transferred from a frozen account that was set aside under the “anti-pay-for-slay law.”

The law was passed in July 2018 to penalize the Palestinian Authority for paying monthly stipends to convicted terrorists. Under it, Israel deducts monies equivalent to those the P.A. pays to terrorists from the monthly payments Israel transfers to the P.A. and sets them aside in a frozen bank account.
The law stipulates that the money, part of the taxes and tariffs (“clearing funds”) Israel collects on behalf of the P.A., will be unfrozen and paid to the P.A. once it stops sponsoring terrorism in this way.

According to the Israeli government, the P.A. spends between 600 million and 650 million shekels ($170 million to $184 million) each year on stipends for terrorists. Some estimates put that number as high as 1 billion shekels ($283 million). The Israeli government collects 600 million to 800 million shekels ($174 million to $226 million) annually for the P.A., accounting for 65% to 70% of its revenue, not counting foreign aid.

According to the petition, then-Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with the head of the P.A., Mahmoud Abbas, in August 2021 and promised to give him 500 million shekels.