Watchdog claims Palestinian Authority's 'pay-for-slay' program not ended, newly released terrorists got payouts

The Palestinian Authority (PA) continues to make payments to security prisoners and families of those killed in terror attacks, which the PA calls “martyrs,” Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) said in a report released on Sunday. 

That report said that the most recent payments in the Palestinian Martyrs Fund, the financial reward program which the PA has operated for years, were paid on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. 

The PA announced the end of the program earlier this year, under pressure from the United States and the European Union, however, as noted by several analysts at the time, the program was not ended, but merely renamed and redirected, in order to avoid casual scrutiny and having to pay fines, as dictated by the 2018 Taylor Force Act. 

Even the PA’s Wafa News site admitted that the program was not being canceled. 

“Under the decree law, the computerized cash assistance program, its database, and its financial, local, and international allocations will be transferred from the Ministry of Social Development to the Palestinian National Foundation for Economic Empowerment,” it reported. 

Instead, the law changed the paying organization and determined that the payments should be made based on economic need, where previously, they had been based on the severity of the terror attack. 

This was also reported by PMW in February. 

Don't be fooled - the Palestinian Authority has not stopped rewarding terrorism. So, what actually happened?

In an attempt to secure U.S. funding, the PA is shifting its pay-for-slay monthly salaries—previously paid to terrorists under the PA budget and PA law—to pay-for-slay…

— Pal Media Watch (@palwatch) February 10, 2025

In fact, in an interview in Arabic, Senior Fatah official Monir al-Jaghoub clearly stated that, “President Mahmoud Abbas did not halt the salaries of anyone. The full salaries of the prisoners, martyrs, and the injured will be paid through another body.” 

In its most recent report, PMW even shared a leaked conversation between recipients of the program with each other, discussing the payments. 

"Good evening, everyone, for those whose salaries are above 5,000 [shekels], how much did they send you today as a percentage of the payment?"

[Answer 1]: "3,000."

[Answer 2]: "50% of the salaries and [those making less than 2,000 received] the full amount. FYI, the salary is for June."

PMW noted that due to sanctions on the PA for its “pay for slay” program, among other things, the Authority has not been able to pay its employees full salaries since 2019, after the Taylor Force Act sanctions began to be in place. 

The media watchdog estimates that the delay in paying the stipends “likely occurred because many donor countries are waiting every month to see if the PA would stick to its promises and would stop rewarding terror.” 

It also noted that the payment to the families of the terror perpetrators came only after significant demonstrations by their families and supporters in PA territories. 

On Friday, Oct. 24, a private message by an official from the Commission of Prisoners notified families that they could collect their payment at post offices on Saturday. 

“Good morning. Tomorrow, Saturday, the prisoners' salaries will be paid at the post office after 10:00 a.m. Employees of the Prisoners' Affairs Authority will also be on duty to facilitate the distribution of salaries. Have a blessed Friday.” 

In statements on Palestinian social media accounts on Saturday, family members confirmed receiving the stipends. 

PMW also noted that the PA has promised families that despite only paying 50% of the stipends since 2019, the Authority has promised to pay back all PA employees and prisoners once it has sufficient funds. 

The continued payment of the stipends to prisoners or families of slain terrorists was also confirmed last month by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). That same month, during the United Nations General Assembly, a group of donor nations vowed to provide at least $170 million per month in emergency funds to the Palestinian Authority to offset tax revenues withheld by Israel over the continued "pay for slay" program.

MEMRI also noted that many Facebook and Telegram groups dedicated to the prisoners’ families deliberately misspelled the word “martyr” in Arabic, in order to prevent an easy search for the term, which would reveal the continued payments. 

MEMRI also reported that the PA refrains from publishing official notices regarding the stipend payments on social media, as it had previously done, “However, posts on social media – in which references to the prisoners and 'martyrs' are deliberately misspelled to prevent them from coming up in a search – indicate that the payment of the salaries continues as usual. The only exception is that 1,612 prisoners, members of Hamas and the PIJ, have recently stopped receiving the salaries. But this is a tiny fraction of the prisoners and released prisoners who receive payments, and the reason behind their exclusion is clearly political.” 

MEMRI also shared a video clip of PA President Mahmoud Abbas telling Fatah's Revolutionary Council that the Authority would continue making the payments to the “prisoners and martyrs.” 

“I would like to reiterate that we are proud of the sacrifices of the martyrs, the prisoners, and the wounded,” Abbas tells the council.

“I told you once, and I stand by my word, that if we have only a single penny left, it will go to the prisoners and the martyrs. I will not allow [anyone] – and neither will you – to remove any commitment, interest or penny that is given to them. They must receive everything they did in the past, and they are more honorable than all of us.” 

Palestinian Media Watch also revealed that the PA sent official representatives to greet the security prisoners released by Israel as part of the Gaza peace plan of U.S. President Donald Trump. The 250 security prisoners, each convicted for their role in terror attacks against Israeli civilians, were released into Egypt, not into Palestinian territory.

The PA officials celebrated the terrorists, calling them “blessed” and “brave heroes.” 

Israel refuses to consider any role for the PA in Gaza after the war due to the Authority’s continued support for terrorism. 

WATCH: PMW Founder & Director Itamar Marcus was interviewed by @cvisrael to discuss the recent terrorist prisoner release & reveals that 160 have become MILLIONAIRES as a result of the Palestinian Authority's Pay-For-Slay program. pic.twitter.com/JqjJlsmfMT

— Pal Media Watch (@palwatch) October 26, 2025

On Monday, during a state visit to Hungary, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar highlighted the PA's continued "pay for slay" program, noting the discrepancy between its statements in English, claiming the program was ended, and its actions.

"Contrary to the PA’s promises in English, they are continuing their ‘pay for slay’ policy, paying salaries to terrorists and their families for murdering Jews and Israelis," Sa'ar said in his statements with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.

Noting that the payments have been a matter of "Palestinian law since 2004, and until this very day," he continued, stating, “The PA never stopped ‘pay for slay’, they just changed the method."

Always good to be in Budapest with my friend Hungarian @FM_Szijjarto.
Hungary has a clear moral dimension in its foreign policy, standing by Israel and calling for accountability for the PA's Pay-for-Slay policy.
I came to Budapest today with the largest-ever economic… pic.twitter.com/e2XYzMFSw1

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) October 27, 2025

Minister Sa'ar called attention to the European Union's failure to hold the PA accountable.

“Instead of holding the PA responsible, the European Union whitewashes it," Sa'ar noted. "They ignore the distorted, ongoing crime of ‘pay for slay,’ the practical meaning of encouraging terrorism. They seek to reward the PA with a terror state of their own.”

He also praised Hungary for being a "unique and clear voice in Europe, calling for accountability" for the PA.

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