Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday instructed the head of the National Security Council Meir Ben-Shabbat to move forward plans to deduct funds from the monthly tax revenues transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
The Hebrew newspaper said that the funds withheld will be used to compensate the farmers of the Israeli settlements neighboring the Gaza Strip for the damages caused in their lands by fires sparked by burning kites sent from the costal enclave.
According to the paper this move came after several large fires broke out on Sunday in Israeli settlements bordering the Gaza Strip. Fire-fighting teams used special aircraft to prevent the blaze from spreading to other areas.
The Israeli government claimed that damages so far are estimated at millions of shekels after over 250000 dunums of land were burned. The government said that numbers are expected to increase since kite attacks are witnessed on a daily basis.
