Iran will pay $7,000 to the families of Palestinian terrorists who were killed while carrying out attacks, and $30,000 to families of terrorists whose houses were demolished by Israel, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon announced on Wednesday.
“The decision firstly includes giving an amount worth $7,000 to every family of a martyr of the intifada in Jerusalem,” said ambassador Mohammad Fathali during a Beirut press conference.
The Islamic Republic will also pay “$30,000 to every family whose home the occupation (Israel) has demolished for the participation of one of its sons” in the violence, Fathali added.
Dozens of Israelis have been killed and hundreds more injured in terrorist attacks over the past five months, while many Palestinian assailants were shot dead as they carried out their attacks.
During the Second Intifada, Saddam Hussein, the former dictator of Iraq, provided Palestinian families of suicide bombers with tens of thousands of dollars, a policy the Bush administration castigated for rewarding and soliciting terror.
As a result of the nuclear deal it signed with world powers last July, Iran has received a financial windfall of $100 billion. White House officials and Middle East experts have previously stated that Iran is likely to use some of the funds released as part of the deal to support terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, a charge echoed by Israeli officials.
“For us, this is not theoretical,” explained Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel’s centrist party Yesh Atid. “This money will translate itself to rockets aimed at our children. The next conflict in the North or South of Israel is just a matter of time.”
Iran has also increased its presence in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, establishing a new proxy group called Al-Sabireen. The group is directly funded by Iran and has recruited 400 fighters in Gaza, fired rockets into Israel, and clashed with Israeli forces at the border between Gaza and Israel. According to Arab-Israeli journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, the group is also establishing terror cells in the West Bank. Palestinian Authority security forces arrested five of its members in Bethlehem last month.
In another example of Iran’s efforts to infiltrate the Palestinian territories, Israeli security forces broke up a terrorist cell based in the West Bank and commanded and funded by Hezbollah. The terrorists, who were recruited by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s son, were planning to carry out suicide bombings and shooting attacks against Israelis.
[Photo: Iftikh / Flickr ]