Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian officials are expressing “great concern” over a report by the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor that includes a warning that Palestinian stipends to attackers and their families could constitute a war crime.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said Thursday that the prosecutor’s office’s report was “based on misleading narratives of a political nature ... rather than an objective and accurate description of the relevant facts.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has defended paying stipends amounting to over $330 million to the families of people killed or imprisoned as a result of fighting with Israel. He says the program is meant to help poor families harmed by conflict.
Israel says the payments encourage violence, a claim the Palestinians reject.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
