Abbas to defy Israeli law and continue Palestinian prisoner payments

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday said he would continue social payments to the families of Palestinians killed or imprisoned by Israel despite a new Israeli law to penalise the policy.

Last week, Israel passed a law to withhold around $130 million in tax revenues it collects every month on behalf of the Palestinian Authority as part of the Oslo Accords.

Israel says the payments to the families of Palestinians jailed for security offences or killed by Israeli forces while carrying out attacks encourages further violence.

Many Palestinians view the prisoners and those killed while carrying out attacks as heroes or "martyrs" in the struggle against Israeli occupation.

"The money we pay to families of prisoners and martyrs, which Israel opposes, we will not allow anyone to intervene with it," Abbas said, according to the official Wafa News Agency.

"We will continue to pay for them. We are watching and are waiting and we will take the appropriate measures that suit our interest."

A dedicated fund was set up in the 1960s and estimates suggest it distributes as much as $100 million a year.

Around 35,000 families receive support from the fund.

Palestinians say such payments are a key source of income for families who have lost their main breadwinner.

Palestinian officials say some 850,000 people have spent time in Israeli prisons in the 50 years since Israel seized the West Bank during in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Israel currently detains some 6,500 Palestinians for a range of alleged offences and crimes, with detainees considered political prisoners in Palestinian society.