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Israel Must Stop the Red Cross From Providing ‘Economic Incentive for Terrorist Activity’
A Red Cross vehicle, as part of a convoy believed to be carrying hostages abducted by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, arrives at the Rafah border, amid a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, as seen from southern Gaza, Nov. 24, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been complicit in the facilitation of rewards to imprisoned Palestinian terrorists. In so doing, the ICRC plays a central role in providing “economic incentive for terrorist activity,” as defined in Israeli law.
In January 2024, Qadura Fares, the director of the PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs, alleged on official PA television that:
The occupation [i.e., Israel] is preventing the Red Cross from visiting the prisoners, and as a result, the Red Cross cannot provide the document given to new or veteran prisoners showing that they are still in prison. This is the document that we established in our [prisoners’ law] regulations as a main document [to confirm salary eligibility]. [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, Jan. 31, 2024]
The prisoners’ law to which Fares was referring is Palestinian Authority (PA) “Government Decision Number 23 of 2010, Regarding the Regulation of Payment of the Monthly Salary to the Prisoner.” The law specifies:
Clause 3 — Documentation
For the purpose of the payment of a prisoner’s monthly salary, his relatives are required to present the necessary documentation to the authorized administration:
1. An original document of the Red Cross attesting to his arrest, and an updated document must be brought every three months for a prisoner who is still in detention. [emphasis added]
The prisoners who are entitled to a monthly salary from the PA are those who have been imprisoned for acts of terrorism, as specified in the “PA Law of Prisoners and Released Prisoners number 19 of 2004”:
Prisoner: Anyone imprisoned in the occupation’s [i.e., Israel’s] prisons as a result of his participation in the struggle against the occupation [i.e., PA euphemism for terror] … (7) (1) The Authority will pay every prisoner a monthly salary (ratib) that will be determined in the regulations. [emphasis added]
The PA has arranged that the Red Cross supply the forms for the imprisoned terrorists as proof of their imprisonment, and has written this into PA law and regulations. Accordingly, the Red Cross is a central cog in facilitating the terror rewards.
Additional PA regulations reveal that the Red Cross is quite active in the process. They require an initial Red Cross visit and a minimum of four visits a year to prisoners until the completion of their trial and conviction.
The same PA regulations require that another important form be provided by the Red Cross, that of the Power of Attorney. With this form, terrorist prisoners can designate an individual who will open a bank account for them or receive terror reward payments on their behalf:
Clause 5 — Power of Attorney: (3) The authorization of a representative is executed through a power of attorney issued by the Red Cross signed by the prisoner, or through a personal power of attorney signed by him and certified by a lawyer of the Ministry and by the General Administration for Legal Matters of the Ministry. The document will be valid only at the Ministry for the purpose of paying the salaries. [emphasis added]
The last line of this regulation is of particular significance. It states that the PA would use the power of attorney provided by the Red Cross for one purpose only—to facilitate financial reward for terrorism.
Red Cross documentation also plays a central role in guaranteeing jobs within the PA to released terrorist prisoners, as stated in PA Government Decision — 2006, Regarding the Regulations of the Law of Prisoners and Released Prisoners — Regulation for Ensuring Jobs for the Released Prisoners”:
Clause 3. Every released prisoner has a right to be guaranteed a job in one of the ministries or the PA apparatus, if the following conditions are met:
He was imprisoned for 5 or more years, because of resistance to the occupation; that is whether this period was consecutive or broken into different time periods.
These period/periods is/are documented in official documents of the Red Cross organization, or in a document from the responsible ministry that will verify his imprisonment. [emphasis added]
PA Government Decision No. 15 of 2013 — Regulation for Ensuring Jobs for Released Prisoners was enacted to replace the previous regulation of 2006, but the role of the Red Cross remained the same:
Clause 4: The fixed salary
The criteria for receiving the fixed salary [after release from prison]
The prisoner was imprisoned for a period of 5 or more years …
The period is confirmed by official documents from the International Committee of the Red Cross, or any other legal document that confirms the arrest, the indictment, and decision of the court. [emphasis added]
The fundamental role of the Red Cross in the PA terror rewards program was demonstrated yet again in December 2023, when the PA published the following announcement:
Honored prisoners’ relatives, please produce a Red Cross document for those who have no sentence whose names appear below; [(a list of names followed]
a Red Cross document accompanied by a new administrative [detention] order for the administrative detainees;
and a Red Cross document accompanied by a verdict for the sentenced prisoners.
In addition, the PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs published the following: “The relatives of the prisoners whose names are noted below must produce the signed Red Cross documents. Respectfully.”
The document shows a list of prisoners from the PA’s Hebron District whose period of eligibility for PA terror salaries would end in December 2023. Next to the prisoners’ names is written either, “Bring a new Red Cross document” or “Bring an administrative [detention] document with the Red Cross’ [signature].”
List: “The relatives of these prisoners must hurry and bring new signed [Red] Cross documents — before Dec. 5, 2023”
[PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs – Hebron Directorate, Facebook page, Nov. 26, 2023]
How the Red Cross incentivizes terrorism
In 2018, Israel passed the Law on the Deduction of Allocations to Palestinian Prisoners and Families of Martyrs from Palestinian Clearance Revenues, which defines these terror salaries as an “economic incentive for terrorist activity.”
This law penalizes the PA for paying stipends to Palestinian terrorists and their families by ordering that Israel withhold the monthly transfers of tax revenues that it collects on the PA’s behalf.
The Red Cross, by facilitating these payments, is enabling “economic incentive for terrorist activity.”
The Palestinian Authority’s policy of paying salaries to imprisoned terrorists, including murderers, has been universally condemned by Western governments. Ignoring this, the International Committee of the Red Cross has chosen to play a central role in facilitating these payments to the terrorists.
As can be seen above, the Red Cross is actively involved in ensuring that terrorists receive their salaries and thereby plays an important role in incentivizing Palestinian terrorism.
Every time a Red Cross representative brings forms to the PA after a visit with terrorists, the Red Cross is enabling “economic incentive for terrorist activity.”
The Red Cross has been under severe criticism since Oct. 7 for its lack of initiative in helping the Israeli hostages in Gaza. This Palestinian Media Watch report makes clear that while the Red Cross seems to have no problem being complacent when it comes to the welfare of Israeli hostages, the Red Cross is proactive in being complicit in the reward of Palestinian terrorists.
The Israeli government has been committing a gross oversight by enacting laws that curtail terror salaries on the one hand, but permit the Red Cross to openly facilitate those illegal salaries on the other.
The Israeli government, which has suspended Red Cross visits to imprisoned terrorists, must notify the Red Cross that any future visits are contingent on the Red Cross’ commitment not to supply any forms to the PA that will enable terrorists to receive the terror salaries. It must further prohibit anyone, including imprisoned terrorists’ lawyers, from processing any forms on behalf of the terrorists that allow them to receive these illegal terror payments, and if necessary, enact legislation to prohibit this.
Itamar Marcus is Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Israel Must Stop the Red Cross From Providing ‘Economic Incentive for Terrorist Activity’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
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