Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has ordered the seizure of 100 million shekels ($26 million) of tax funds intended for the Palestinian Authority. It said it would be used to pay for Israeli victims of terrorism.

In a statement issued late on Sunday, the finance ministry said the confiscation of funds was “part of measures to combat terrorism”.

The statement quoted Smotrich as accusing the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, of diverting the funds to the “families of terrorists”.

Israeli politicians have regularly criticised the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority for granting financial support to the families of Palestinians killed or jailed for acts of violence against Israel, reports AFP.