PA Reportedly Halts ‘Pay-to-Slay’ Payments to More Than 1,600 Palestinian Prisoners

Latest Developments

• Some Prisoners Lose Pay-to-Slay Stipend: The Palestinian Authority (PA) has reportedly ended “pay-to-slay” payments to the families of at least 1,612 Palestinians serving jail sentences in Israel for terror-related offenses. The halt in payments is the result of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s February decree to cancel the controversial program, which pays a monthly stipend to the families of slain or imprisoned Palestinians accused of attacking Israelis. Abbas’s decree called for the establishment of a new non-governmental body that would distribute payments based on economic need to all Palestinians, including the families of prisoners.
• Payments Halted For Small Proportion of Prisoners: For now, the move only impacts a small number of the Palestinians currently receiving “martyr” payments. PA official Qadura Fares, who is responsible for prisoner affairs, has stated that between 35,000 and 40,000 families could be impacted if the pay-to-slay program were cut entirely. The Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas said the move amounted to abandoning the cause “of the prisoners, the wounded, and the families of the martyrs.”
• U.S. Law Blocks Aid Going to ‘Pay-to-Slay’ Stipends: In 2018, the United States adopted the Taylor Force Act — named after an American veteran killed in a Palestinian terror attack — barring the PA from using U.S. financial assistance to fund terrorist stipends. In April, Abbas’s newly appointed deputy, Hussein al-Sheikh, wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio inviting Trump administration officials to visit Ramallah after June 1 to certify that the PA has implemented reforms necessary to lift the act’s restrictions. The PA has previously dangled pay-to-slay reform as a negotiating tactic in its bid to remove the Palestine Liberation Organization and its affiliates from the U.S. list of designated terrorist organizations.

FDD Expert Response

“While a suspension of payments to some pay-to-slay recipients marks a step in the right direction, it falls short of dismantling the program. Genuine reform by the PA will only be demonstrated through a complete termination of the program and a sustained period in which no alternative or disguised mechanism replaces it. Without these conditions, any pause risks being viewed as a tactical delay rather than a substantive policy shift by the PA.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

“The PA is making a determined effort to demonstrate to the Trump administration that it is able to change its ways. The appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh to serve as Abbas’s deputy, the apparent reform of the pay-to-slay program, and the willingness of Palestinian officials in Ramallah to meet with Trump, whom they had boycotted in his previous term, point to changes within the PA. One can hope that these changes show the PA is moving in the right direction, but as the key players remain the same, this development may amount to little more than a tactical shift in funding mechanisms. It remains unclear if the PA is a credible partner for peace and if it has the domestic legitimacy to deliver meaningful change.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

“The PA has played this game many times before, saying it would end pay-to-slay only to direct the payments from a different account. Hopefully, this time is different, but we should exercise extreme caution before concluding that the PA has reformed. Even if it has dropped pay-to-slay, the PA still has much to do in terms of stopping corruption and incitement to violence.” — David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst

FDD Background and Analysis

“Palestinian Authority Spy Chief to Meet With U.S. Counterparts as Abbas Handpicks Possible Successor,” FDD Flash Brief

“PA to Modify ‘Pay to Slay’ Policy in Apparent Overture to Trump,” FDD Flash Brief

“Palestinian Terrorists Released in Ceasefire Deal Leave Israeli Jails as Millionaires,” FDD Flash Brief

“10 Things to Know About the Palestinian Authority,” FDD Insight