RAMALLAH, June 12, 2017 (WAFA) - Issa Qaraqi, head of the Detainees Affairs Commission, described Monday an Israeli decision to deduct the equivalent of funds the Palestinian Authority allocates to the families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and those who were killed by Israeli forces from tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinians as an act of piracy and theft.

The Israeli Ministerial Committee for Legislation voted on Sunday to deduct the equivalent of the money the Palestinian Authority pays to families of prisoners from the tax revenues, estimated at almost $300 million a year.

Speaking to Voice of Palestine radio, Qaraqi said that Israel aims by this act to delegitimize the Palestinian national struggle and to deny the prisoners the right to be identified as prisoners of freedom who have sacrificed to become free from the occupation.

He said Israel ignores the fact that it is an occupying power and that it was the reason the prisoners are behind bars.

Qaraqi called for continued support for the families of the prisoners and those killed by Israeli forces. He also called for “prosecuting the Israeli occupation before international courts for the crime of stealing the money of the Palestinian people.”

M.N./M.K.