Israel Fails to Halt PA Payments to Terrorists in Prisons, Study Finds

The Palestinian Authority (PA) continues to pay over 20 million shekels monthly to terrorists imprisoned in Israel, circumventing Israeli laws designed to stop these transfers and defying a commitment made by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to the United States. This is according to a new study by the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Policy and Security (JCFA), reported by Ynet on November 9. The study's authors argue that Israel's implementation of its own legislation is insufficient, with only about 15% of confiscated funds actually seized despite orders totaling 50 million shekels since 2019.

The research, conducted by former military prosecutor Maurice Hirsch, details how the PA and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) maintain a "Pay for Slay" policy, increasing monthly payments based on sentence length, with amounts reaching up to 12,000 shekels for those serving over 30 years. Following Israeli anti-terrorism legislation in 2020, Palestinian banks were warned against processing these payments, leading to the closure of approximately 35,000 accounts. However, the PA shifted to alternative methods, including cash distributions via post offices and payments through special ATMs disconnected from the main banking system.

Hirsch suggests that these new methods offer Israel opportunities to intercept funds without harming the broader Palestinian banking sector. He proposes that security forces locate and confiscate cash from these special ATMs after loading, and expand asset seizures of recipients, including bank accounts, vehicles, and property, using existing legal powers.

The study also recommends initiating criminal proceedings against PA and PLO officials responsible for authorizing these payments, potentially including Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister, and Finance Minister Istifan Salamah. Another suggestion involves imposing fines on convicted terrorists equivalent to the amounts they are slated to receive from the PA during their incarceration.

Furthermore, Hirsch urges more active use of a 2023 law allowing for the revocation of citizenship or residency status for terrorists receiving PA payments, noting only two such procedures have been initiated. Internationally, he advocates for U.S. sanctions against involved organizations and officials, and potentially against recipients themselves, leveraging U.S. anti-terrorism financing laws. Hirsch concludes that while legal tools largely exist to halt these payments, the primary issue is the significant gap between legislative capabilities and their actual enforcement.