Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli Finance Minister, has denied the claims of an Israeli channel that his ministry had forwarded tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli media reported that Smotrich emphatically denied the reports from Israeli TV Channel 12 that any funds from his ministry had been sent to the Palestinian Authority before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken‘s visit.

Smotrich labeled the report a total fabrication, and declared his ministry will take punitive action against the Palestinian Authority for supposedly promoting what he termed “terrorism“. This is in the context of increased Israeli security measures against Palestinians.