The court claimed that the confiscated money was in exchange for compensation for the families of israeli victims of operations that targeted Israeli interests.

Reacting against the decision, Minister Hussein Sheikh, Chairman of the Palestinian Authority’s Civil Affairs Commission, said today that the Central Court’s decision to reserve 450 million shekels (about $129) due to the Palestinian government is nothing but an act of “piracy and theft”.

“Such decisions bring us closer to decisiveness and the implementation of the decisions of the National & Central Councils,” Sheikh said in a tweet. He was referring to previous resolutions – currently put on hold – of the National Council and the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization, on halting security coordination with the Israeli government and suspending the agreements signed with Israel.

He described the Israeli court’s ruling as an act of “piracy and theft”.

The Israeli government is already withholding millions of dollars due to the Palestinian Authority under the pretext the latters makes monthly payments to the families of the Palestinian prisoners and those killed by Israel.