Israeli incitement against Palestinian prisoners unacceptable: official

A senior Palestinian official accused Israel Wednesday of incitement against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, adding that it is totally unacceptable.

Eassa Qaraqea', the official in charge of prisoner affairs in Palestine's Liberation Organization (PLO) told Xinhua "Israel recently published old secret documents concerning salaries paid to Hamas movement's prisoners."

"By publishing these old leaked documents, Israel intends to foment incitement against prisoners and we won't succumb to it," said Qaraqea', adding "these documents, leaked to Israeli media, are not new."

The PLO official clarified that each Palestinian prisoner in Israeli prisons has been receiving a regular monthly salary for dozens of years, adding "the salary is cashed by the prisoner's family and Israelis know this very well."

He accused Israel of using the documents during the current tense situation in Palestinian territories "as incitement against prisoners claiming that paying salaries to prisoners supports terrorism."

"Israelis never stopped incitement against our prisoners and our people. We won't succumb to it and we will continue paying salaries to families of the prisoners," said Qaraqea'.

Israeli Radio reported Wednesday that it received secret documents revealing that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) cashed tens of thousands of US dollars as salaries to prisoners who attacked Israel.

The radio, which quoted the Israeli newspaper Yadiout Ahronot, added that the huge financial sums paid to prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli jails include militants with the Hamas movement. Enditem