Former Israeli Military Lawyer Exposes Palestinian Authority Payments Supporting Released Terrorists
Retired Lieutenant Colonel and attorney Morris Hirsch, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, revealed that the Palestinian Authority (PA) operates a payment system that extends beyond stipends to imprisoned terrorists, providing financial incentives and employment benefits to terrorists after their release. Hirsch claims that senior Hamas figures involved in planning the October 7 massacre also benefited from these payments.
According to Hirsch, the PA’s policy includes a release grant and employment preference for terrorists who served five to ten years in Israeli prisons. If no job is found, the released terrorist receives a salary without working. After ten years of imprisonment, the terrorist is guaranteed a PA position with a salary based on seniority. Hirsch explained that thousands of released terrorists receive salaries comparable to senior PA officials, even if they do not actively work.
Hirsch cited his experience as deputy military prosecutor in the West Bank and Gaza, noting that many terrorists released to Gaza, including Yahya Sinwar who served twenty years, became PA employees under this law. The law does not distinguish between factions, so all receive payments. He emphasized that before October 7, the PA paid salaries to senior Hamas members released from prison, including Sinwar, Zaher Jabarin, Ruhi Mushtaha, and Tawfiq Abu Naeem, who were involved in planning or executing the massacre.
Hirsch highlighted that these payments, made without requiring work, freed the terrorists’ time and resources to plan attacks, including the October 7 massacre. When asked if PA President Mahmoud Abbas could claim ignorance of these practices, Hirsch noted Abbas has never condemned the massacre or labeled the perpetrators as terrorists. He also recalled that the PA initially boasted about Fatah members’ participation in the attack.
This information is significant amid lawsuits by thousands of terror victims against the PA, as it establishes a financial link between the PA and the massacre perpetrators, countering court claims that it is difficult to prove PA responsibility for terrorist acts.
