Knesset says return WWII victims' money

JERUSALEM, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A Knesset committee said Tuesday that Israeli bank accounts belonging to Holocaust victims should be returned.

The government and five banks must return an estimated $31.5 million of some 9,000 bank accounts which likely belonged to Jews who were killed by the Germans during World War II, reported the Ha'aretz news agency.

The Banking Committee Chairwoman, Labor MP Colette Avital, criticized the banks and said they were to blame for delaying the committee's work, but Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said the banks should be praised for their cooperation.