PA nixes ‘pay for slay’ – but quietly finds alternative funding for jailed terrorists

The ‘pay-for-slay’ program refers to the PA’s policy of providing financial support to terrorists who carry out attacks against Israelis.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas signed a decree on Monday ending the notorious “pay-for-slay” program, which provides stipends to jailed Palestinian terrorists and the families of slain terrorists.

Despite the move, widely perceived as part of an overture to the Trump administration, a PA mouthpiece has reported that Ramallah is creating an alternative mechanism for funding jailed terrorists and the families of slain terrorists.

Although Abbas indicated Monday he was ending this program, the PA’s WAFA outlet reported that the payments are merely being transferred from the Ministry of Social Development to the National Palestinian Economic Empowerment Institution, an entity under PA control.

Additionally, families of terrorists will remain eligible for financial aid under the same criteria as needy families.

A decision was made to allow Israel to cease its policy of deducting tax funds from payments to terrorists and their families.

Hamas condemned the PA’s apparent cancellation of the program, stating, “We condemn his decision to cancel the payments to the families of the prisoners, the dead, and the wounded, and to abandon the national cause at a time when our people and the resistance forces are working to safeguard the rights of the released prisoners and to ensure their lives.”

Before this decision, there was already a downward trend in the payments terrorist families received for attacks.

According to research, the Palestinian Authority’s payments under the “pay-for-slay” program decreased by 30 to 40% in 2024, despite an expected increase.

Col. (res.) Adv. Maurice Hirsch, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, identified several factors contributing to this decline.

First, bureaucratic difficulties have arisen since Red Cross representatives have been barred from visiting prisons.

Second, Hirsch stated, “The economic pressure on the Palestinian Authority has reached an unprecedented level. According to new data from the Finance Ministry, Israel has deducted approximately NIS 3 billion from PA funds as of November 2024.”

A third factor is the ongoing war in Gaza, which has disrupted the transfer of funds and the documentation required to access them.