Palestinian Authority Continues Millions in Payments to Terrorists in Israeli Prisons

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is reportedly continuing to transfer over 20 million shekels monthly as salaries to terrorists imprisoned in Israel. This funding persists despite explicit commitments from PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to the U.S. administration to cease the practice, and in defiance of Israeli laws designed to prevent it. These findings are detailed in a comprehensive study by the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs and Security (JCFA), which also highlights perceived lax enforcement by Israeli authorities, according to Ynet.

The research, led by retired Colonel Adv. Morris Hirsch, a former military prosecutor and now a senior researcher at JCFA, reveals that since 2019, defense ministers have signed dozens of orders to seize PA and PLO funds designated for terrorists, totaling approximately 50 million shekels. However, only about 15% of this amount has actually been confiscated.

The payment system, criticized as "Pay for Slay," operates on a tiered reward structure based on sentence length. Prisoners serving their first three years receive 1,400 shekels monthly, which increases to 4,000 shekels after five years, and those with sentences exceeding 30 years receive 12,000 shekels per month.

Following the 2020 Anti-Terrorism Law in Judea and Samaria, Palestinian banks were warned of legal repercussions for managing accounts of terrorists. This led to the closure of around 35,000 accounts linked to security prisoners and their families. The PA, however, has devised alternative methods, initially distributing cash through post offices and now utilizing special ATMs not connected to the traditional banking system.

Hirsch's study proposes practical solutions, suggesting that Israel could leverage the ATM system by locating the machines and seizing cash immediately after deposits, thereby avoiding broader impact on the banking sector. He also recommends expanding the seizure of assets belonging to terrorists who received funds, including vehicles and real estate, and prosecuting decision-makers within the PA and PLO, including senior figures like Abbas, Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, and Finance Minister Estefan Salameh. Another proposed measure is legislation imposing a punitive fine on convicted terrorists equal to the total salary they are expected to receive during their sentences. Hirsch also urges greater use of a 2023 law allowing the revocation of Israeli citizenship or residency for terrorists receiving PA salaries, a provision used in only two cases so far. Diplomatically, the study calls for U.S. sanctions against PA and PLO officials involved in these payments, under existing U.S. anti-terror financing laws. The study concludes that the legal tools to combat this phenomenon exist, but require determination and effective enforcement.