Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, Sept. 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Did the Palestinian Authority (PA) stop paying imprisoned terrorists? No.

The PA has not stopped paying imprisoned terrorists, but because of US pressure, it will be paying from a different account that also includes welfare recipients.

According to several PA/Fatah sources, the salaries will remain very high, identical to what they were, while according to a different reading of the law, they will be based on social welfare needs. The law seems intentionally ambiguous.

The difference between the PA terror payments for people who murder and its welfare payments for people in need is shocking.

The PA currently rewards terrorists in prison between 1,400 to 12,000 shekels a month, depending on how long they have been incarcerated.

PA welfare benefits — based on financial need — range from 250 to 600 shekels/month.

This graph shows how much the PA prioritizes and incentivizes terrorism.

Source: Palestinian Media Watch.

The lowest salary for a terrorist is 6 times the lowest amount of financial support given to welfare recipients.

The highest PA terror salary is up to 48 times the welfare support for the needy.

The PA has made it clear that it is making this change not because it believes it is wrong to fund terror but because it needs US money, owes the Palestinian banks $3 billion, and cannot borrow any more.

Will there be a change in the amount of PA terror-reward payments as the PA seems to have promised the US? We will only know when the next payments are made in March.

And remember — this is all about money. If the terror rewards are lower, it is not because the PA has changed its attitude towards terror; the PA has merely changed its attitude towards its financial needs.

The author is the Founder and Executive Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.