Palestinians Vow to End Controversial Prisoner Payment Program

[Mosby]

For decades, the Palestinian Authority has paid a monthly stipend to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails or their families, including those who have killed Israelis. Longer jail sentences mean far higher monthly payments: A prisoner sentenced to 30 years or more can get some $4,000 a month.

The U.S. and Israel have long criticized the program as rewarding terrorism. It has been one of the primary reasons why Israel has said it can’t trust the PA, or allow it to play a role in postwar Gaza.

Now, PA President Mahmoud Abbas has announced he will stop the payment program—a move hailed by both the U.S. and the European Union as a major political achievement.

It could open the door to greater cooperation between the PA and Washington and improve chances the PA could play a role in governing Gaza once the war there comes to an end, analysts and former U.S. officials said.

Both the previous Trump and Biden administrations, and Israel, have requested the PA end the practice.

A State Department spokesperson praised the move. The official added that the administration would monitor how the changes would be implemented to “end this abhorrent practice.”

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/palestinians-vow-to-end-controversial-prisoner-payment-program-1b614340

Tl;Dr The Palestinians once again are going to pretend to stop paying murderers and terrorists stipends for killing Jews and Israelis. Right now it's more than 350 million per year of DONOR money.

[Beastly Boy]

1. Abbas didn't end the "pay to slay" program.

He just transferred the administration of the program to an "independent" foundation, funded by the PA and whose board is appointed by Abbas himself.

The decree means that the PA has changed its system such that payments to Palestinian prisoners convicted of terrorist attacks and their families will be based on their social economic status, not the acts they committed. Under the now-revoked program, Palestinians would receive more money for more severe terrorist acts — a policy that, according to critics, incentivized more terrorism.

However, Israeli journalist Lahav Harkov argued that the PA is “just restructuring the mechanism through which they pay terrorists so that they can claim it’s not them, it’s an ‘independent’ foundation doing it. An ‘independent’ foundation funded by the PA and whose board is appointed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Monday saying, “This is a new fraudulent trick by the Palestinian Authority, which intends to continue making payments to terrorists and their families through other payment channels.”

https://www.algemeiner.com/2025/02/10/palestinian-authority-restructures-pay-slay-system-questions-remain-whether-move-genuine/