Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund#Hamas

Palestinian movement Fatah established the Palestine Mujahidin and Martyrs Fund in 1964{{Cite book |last=Ṣāyigh |first=Yazīd |title=Armed struggle and the search for state: the Palestinian national movement, 1949-1993 |date=1997 |publisher=Clarendon Press ; Oxford University Press |others=Institute for Palestine Studies (Washington, D.C.) |isbn=978-0-19-829265-4 |location=Oxford : New York |pages=225}} to recompense the families of dead and wounded Palestinian fedayeen militants.{{cite journal |last1=Giacaman |first1=Faris |title=Political Representation and Armed Struggle |journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |date=Autumn 2013 |volume=43 |issue=1 |page=33 |doi=10.1525/jps.2013.43.1.24 |jstor=10.1525/jps.2013.43.1.24 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/jps.2013.43.1.24 |access-date=2 October 2023|url-access=subscription }}{{cite book |last1=Marron |first1=Rayyar|title=Humanitarian Rackets and their Moral Hazards: The Case of the Palestinian Refugee Camps in Lebanon|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1317119494 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iz37CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT134|access-date=8 June 2017}} In 1971, this fund was replaced by the Society for the Care of Palestinian Martyrs and Prisoners. The Society classified "military martyrs" broadly, including not only fedayeen killed during military operations, but also those who died of natural causes while on active service. Their families received cash stipends. Non-members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) who died in encounters with Israeli security forces received one-time payments, creating incentives for families to posthumously apply to reclassify their deceased relatives as fighters.{{cite book|last1=Yazīd|first1=Ṣāyigh|title=Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949–1993|date=1997|publisher=Clarendon|isbn=0198292651|page=60}}

Various funding agencies have managed these payments over the decades, including the "Fund for Families of Martyrs and the Injured."{{cite news |last1=Levitt |first1=Matthew |title=The P.L.O. Verdict Should Be No Surprise |url=https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/02/24/terror-and-the-palestinian-authority/the-plo-verdict-should-be-no-surprise?mcubz=2|access-date=8 June 2017|work=New York Times|date=20 November 2015}} SAMED, the Palestine Martyrs Works Society, was founded in 1970, and took on some responsibility for martyr payments while also providing employment in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon throughout the 1970s.

The payments were routinized during the Second Intifada (2000–2005). However, the question of which Palestinian factions' militants from all political factions would receive payments from the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been highly contested. PA President Mahmoud Abbas withdrew such payments for PLO-affiliated prisoners, but restored them in 2009. The PA government has claimed it does not make payments to families of prisoners belonging to Hamas or Islamic Jihad.{{cite news|title=Stipends for PLO-member political prisoners|publisher=Palestine News Network|date=4 March 2009|id={{ProQuest|469055001}}}}{{better source needed|date=March 2025}}

After Joe Biden's election as U.S. president in 2020, Palestinian officials reportedly expressed willingness to modify the payment system. The proposed change would base stipends on prisoners' financial need rather than sentence length, which would bring the PA into compliance with the 2018 Taylor Force Act. This Act had suspended U.S. aid to the PA as long as it continued making payments to prisoners, including those convicted of attacks against Israeli civilians, and families of those killed fighting Israelis.{{cite news |last1=Magid |first1=Jacob |title=Set to amend 'pay to slay,' PA hopes Biden will shun law deeming PLO 'terrorist' |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/set-to-amend-pay-to-slay-pa-hopes-biden-will-shun-law-deeming-plo-terrorist/ |access-date=31 March 2024 |work=Times of Israel |date=2020-12-31}}{{cite news |last1=Rasgon |first1=Adam |title=Seeking Restart With Biden, Palestinians Eye End to Prisoner Payments |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/19/world/middleeast/biden-palestinian-prisoner-payments.html |access-date=31 March 2024 |work=New York Times |date=2020-11-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119151645/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/19/world/middleeast/biden-palestinian-prisoner-payments.html |archive-date=2020-11-19}}

On 10 February 2025, Abbas signed a degree reportedly ending the Martyrs Fund. The new system based stipends to families solely on financial need, a move described as a goodwill gesture toward the new Donald Trump administration.{{Cite web |last=Magid |first=Jacob |date=10 February 2025 |title=In major win for Trump, PA's Abbas signs decree ending 'pay-to-slay' system |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/in-major-win-for-trump-pas-abbas-signs-decree-ending-pay-to-slay-system/ |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=The Times of Israel |language=en-US}} This decision faced internal criticism, notably from Qadura Fares, head of the PA's Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs. Fares was subsequently fired by Abbas on 18 February. Hamas characterized Fares' dismissal as "submission to Zionist and American dictates."{{cite news |title=Abbas ousts PA minister for criticizing Martyrs' Fund shakeup |url=https://www.jns.org/abbas-ousts-pa-minister-for-criticizing-martyrs-fund-shakeup/ |access-date=17 March 2025 |work=Jewish News Syndicate |date=2025-02-21}}{{cite news |title=Abbas fires Palestinian prisoners' head for 'supporting martyrs' fund' |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/palestinian-official-fired-abbas-backing-martyrs-fund |access-date=17 March 2025 |work=New Arab |date=2025-02-19}}

The PA distributes payments through two primary funds:{{cite news|last1=Baker|first1=Peter|title=G.O.P. Pressures Trump to Take Tough Stance With Mahmoud Abbas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/02/world/middleeast/palestine-mahmoud-abbas.html?_r=0|access-date=11 June 2017|work=New York Times|date=2 May 2017}}

• The Prisoners Fund makes payments to individuals imprisoned by Israel ("prisoner payments")
• The Foundation for the Care of the Families of Martyrs ("Martyrs Fund"), under the PA's Ministry of Social Affairs, provides financial support to families of individuals wounded or killed during confrontations with Israel.

Both funds operate under the PLO umbrella but receive their funding from the PA, which employs over 500 bureaucrats.

These payments, total more than $300 million annually, representing approximately 7 percent of the PA's annual budget.

In 2017, the payment system allocated:{{Cite news |last=Kessler |first=Glenn |date=2018-03-14 |title=Analysis {{!}} Does the Palestinian Authority pay $350 million a year to 'terrorists and their families'? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2018/03/14/does-the-palestinian-authority-pay-350-million-a-year-to-terrorists-and-their-families/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180323183349/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2018/03/14/does-the-palestinian-authority-pay-350-million-a-year-to-terrorists-and-their-families/ |archive-date=2018-03-23 |access-date= |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}

• $160 million was paid to 13,000 beneficiaries of "prisoner payments" (averaging $12,307 per person)
• $183 million was paid to 33,700 families in about in "martyr payments" (averaging $5,430 per family) annually

Of the total amount:

• $36 million went to prisoners serving sentences of more than 20 years
• $10 million to former members of the security forces
• $1 million to families of 200 suicide bombers
• $10 million to the families of the Palestinians with life terms, lengthy sentences, and in the security forces

In 2016, $173 million in "martyr payments" supported 35,100 families, including the families of suicide bombers, according to Palestinian figures.{{cite news|last1=Makovsky|first1=David|title=If Palestinians are serious about peace, 'martyr' violence should not pay|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2017/04/06/if-palestinians-are-serious-about-peace-martyr-violence-should-not-pay/|access-date=6 June 2017|newspaper=Washington Post|date=6 April 2017}}{{cite news |date=12 July 2016 |title=Israel puts Palestinians on defensive over 'martyrs' fund' |url=https://apnews.com/11f6ce1ed78943a0afc947e81334cef9 |access-date=2025-03-20 |publisher=Associated Press}}{{cite news|last1=Lake|first1=Eli|title=The Palestinian Incentive Program for Killing Jews|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-07-01/the-palestinian-incentive-program-for-killing-jews|access-date=25 July 2016|publisher=Bloomberg|date=1 July 2016}} The stipend is higher than the average Palestinian wage.{{cite news|last1=Gordon|first1=Evelyn|title=Stop Subsidizing Terror Murder|url=https://www.commentarymagazine.com/terrorism/us-terror-subsidizing-murder/|access-date=25 July 2016|work=Commentary magazine|date=30 June 2016}}

In 2025, a decree mandated that payments would be transferred to a government body affiliated with the president's office, implementing a new disbursement mechanism, though specific details have not yet been announced.{{cite news |title=Palestinian president scraps prisoner payment system criticised by US |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/abbas-revokes-payment-system-financial-allowances-families-palestinian-prisoners-2025-02-10/ |access-date=17 March 2025 |work=Reuters}}

Between January 1995 and June 2002, the fund distributed NIS 16 million to families of prisoners annually, and between June 2002 to June 2004 NIS 88.5 million annually.{{cite news|last1=Fayyad|first1=Salam|title=Palestinian finance minister rejects "unjust" allegations over prisoner funds|publisher=BBC|date=15 July 2004|id={{ProQuest|459221830}}}}{{Cite news|last1=Rasgon|first1=Adam|last2=Najib|first2=Mohammed|date=2020-05-09|title=Israel Cracks Down on Banks Over Payments to Palestinian Inmates|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/09/world/middleeast/israel-palestinian-inmates-banks.html|access-date=2021-03-09|issn=0362-4331}}

As of 2016, the fund had an annual budget of $173 million and supported approximately 35,100 families, according to Palestinian figures. Stipends are paid to families of both prisoners and Palestinians killed in contexts ranging from political demonstrations that turn violent where protesters are killed by non-lethal riot control methods (such as being hit by a tear gas canister) and to individuals imprisoned for "common crimes".

According to the fund's head Intisar al-Wazir, each family of a deceased individual received a base stipend of 1,400 NIS ($350), with additional amounts provided based on marital status and number of children:

• Married recipients received an additional $100
• Each child added $50 to the monthly payment
• Children received support until age 18 or until they began working
• University students received support until graduation

Families of individuals killed by Israeli security forces typically received stipends of $800 to $1,000 per month, while families of convicted Palestinians serving time in Israeli prisons received $3,000 or more per month.{{cite news|last1=Booth|first1=William|title=Israel wants Trump to stop Palestinian payments to prisoners and families of 'martyrs'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-wants-trump-to-stop-palestinian-payments-to-prisoners-and-families-of-martyrs/2017/05/18/72d08c90-39af-11e7-a59b-26e0451a96fd_story.html|access-date=5 June 2017|newspaper=Washington Post|date=21 May 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Diament|first1=Nathan|title=How to end the Palestinian Authority's 'pay-for-slay' laws|publisher=Jerusalem Post|date=6 March 2017|id={{ProQuest|1876186774}}}}

In 2017, the National Association of the Martyrs' Families of Palestine advocated for cost of living increases in their stipends, which had remained unchanged since 2011.{{cite news|title=Amid growing US criticism, families of Palestinian terrorists seek larger payments|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/amid-growing-us-criticism-families-of-palestinian-terrorists-seek-larger-payments/|access-date=6 June 2017|work=Times of Israel|date=10 April 2017}}

In June 2021, the PA paid the family of a Palestinian who murdered two Israelis 30,000 Jordanian dinars ($42,000) to "complete the payment of the price" of the family's house that was demolished by the IDF.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/abbas-pays-40000-to-family-of-terrorist-who-murdered-two-israelis-670300|title=Abbas pays $40,000 to family of terrorist who murdered two Israelis - The Jerusalem Post}}

The payment system for Palestinian prisoners is codified in Palestinian law. Under the Amended Palestinian Prisoners Law No. 19 (2004), prisoners who have served a year or more in Israeli prison are entitled upon release to health insurance and tuition-free school, university and professional education. If they become civil servants, the law stipulates that the Palestinian Authority will "pay his social security and pension fees... for the years he spent in prison." Incarcerated individuals are entitled to monthly stipends "linked to the cost-of-living index." Amendments in 2013 entitle individuals released from prison a preference in getting jobs with the Palestinian Authority, and stipulates that the PA "will make up the difference" if the civil service salary "is lower than the salary he received in prison." Females who have served 2 years in prison, and males who have served 5 are entitled to receive stipends for the rest of their lives. The fund also pays $106 a month in "canteen money" to imprisoned Palestinians, including those imprisoned for non-political crimes such as car theft and drug dealing. These payments totaled more than $10 million to support purchases for food and clothing in 2018. Hakim Awad, who perpetrated the 2011 Itamar attack, receives $14,000 per year, and can expect to receive more than $1.9 million over the length of his incarceration if he lived to be 80 years old.{{cite news |last1=Kessler |first1=Glenn |title=Does the Palestinian Authority pay $350 million a year to 'terrorists and their families'? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2018/03/14/does-the-palestinian-authority-pay-350-million-a-year-to-terrorists-and-their-families/ |access-date=5 August 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=2018-03-14}}

In 2016, the fund for Palestinian prisoners had a budget of $125 million, according to the Palestinian Finance Ministry. PLO Commissioner for Prisoners’ Affairs Qadri Abu Bakr stated that the PLO paid as much as $181 million in salaries to imprisoned Palestinians in 2020. The PLO supported about 7,500 released prisoners and 4,500 currently detained prisoners. NGO Palestinian Media Watch had previously estimated the 2020 payments at $159 million.{{cite news |title=PLO says $15 million per month being paid in terror stipends |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/plo-says-15-million-per-month-being-paid-in-terror-stipends/ |access-date=19 March 2025 |work=Times of Israel |date=2021-03-04}}

Hamas has operated a separate fund for years predating before its takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007.{{cite report |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/isrl-pa/ |title=Erased in a Moment: Suicide Bombing Attacks Against Israeli Civilians |publisher=Human Rights Watch |section=VI. Financial and logistical support |date=October 2002 |first=Joe |last=Stork}} In 2001, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas, boasted that Hamas payments to the families of prisoners and of suicide bombers totaled between $2 and $3 million. According to a 2001 report by the Israeli government, the families of prisoners received an initial lump sum payment of between $500 and $5,000, with monthly stipends of about $100, with higher payments for the families of Hamas members.{{cite book|last1=Levitt|first1=Matthew|title=Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad|date=2008|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0300129014|page=59|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Min9VpiravsC&pg=PA59}}

{{See also|Martyrdom in Palestinian society}}

The so-called "martyr payments" are "exceedingly popular" among Palestinians and have been described as "part of the ethos of Palestinian society." Support for the payments among Palestinians is as high as 91%.{{cite web |last1=Keir |first1=Hallaamal |title=Palestinian Prisoner Payments |url=https://ceipfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf/PalestinianPrisonerPayments_FactSheet_final.pdf |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |access-date=5 August 2023}} According to Ziad Asali, founding president of the pro-Palestinian American Task Force on Palestine, Palestinian politicians and the media have elevated these payments to the point where they are "sacred in Palestinian politics," and no government dares terminate the practice. Professor Nathan Brown of George Washington University says that the stipends to prisoner's families are "universally supported among Palestinians."

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club defends the stipends; the club's leader, Qadura Fares, maintains that payments supporting the families of prisoners are just because the families, "are a part of our people" and that "the family did nothing against anyone." According to Fares, the attacks for which the prisoners were convicted are "not terror," but "part of the struggle" against Israel.{{cite news|last1=Zeveloff|first1=Naomi|title=Unpacking the Controversial History of Subsidizing Terror|url=http://forward.com/news/israel/348017/exclusive-does-aid-to-palestinians-subsidize-the-families-of-terrorists/|access-date=8 June 2017|work=The Forward|date=26 August 2016}}

In June 2017, PA President Mahmoud Abbas called efforts to stop the martyr payments an "aggression against the Palestinian people," and defended the salaries paid to imprisoned Palestinians as a "social responsibility."{{cite news|title=Abbas Defends Payments to Terrorists After Meeting With U.S. Envoys|url=http://www.thetower.org/5122-abbas-defends-payments-to-terrorists-after-meeting-with-u-s-envoys/|access-date=23 June 2017|publisher=The Tower Magazine|date=22 June 2017}} In response to the Taylor Force Act, a law in the United States halting economic aid to PA until the martyr payments cease, Abbas pledged "If we are left with one penny, we will spend it on the families of the prisoners and martyrs."{{cite news |last1=Abu Toameh |first1=Khaled |title=Abbas: We won't stop payments to 'martyrs' and prisoners |url=https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/abbas-we-wont-stop-payments-to-maryrs-and-prisoners-563250 |access-date=4 December 2023 |work=Jerusalem Post |date=2018-07-24}}

A public opinion poll commissioned by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy in June 2017 showed that two-thirds of Palestinians polled disagreed with the PA's policy, saying that Palestinian prisoners and their families do not deserve extra payments on account of their "armed operations", but should instead be given regular social benefits like other Palestinians.{{Cite web|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-surprising-opinions-of-palestinians|title=The Surprising Opinions of Palestinians|website=www.washingtoninstitute.org|language=en|access-date=2018-02-01}}

Critics, including Jewish communities, journalists, foreign politicians, and the occupying power Israel often call the payments "pay for slay" and blame the payments for encouraging and incentivizing terrorism, such as car ramming and stabbings.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishnews.net.au/our-tax-wont-pay-to-slay/79157|title=Our tax won't 'pay to slay'|date=July 4, 2018|website=The Australian Jewish News}}{{cite news|last1=Feith|first1=Douglas|title=The Department of Pay for Slay|url=https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/the-department-of-pay-for-slay/|access-date=5 June 2017|work=Commentary magazine|date=15 March 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Toosi |first1=Nahal |title=US says Palestinians are close to changing 'pay for slay' program |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/29/us-says-palestinians-are-close-to-changing-pay-for-slay-program-00149734 |access-date=31 March 2024 |work=Politico |date=2024-03-29}}{{cite news |title=US bipartisan group calls on Blinken to end Palestinian 'pay-for-slay' |url=https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-750603 |access-date=31 March 2024 |work=Jerusalem Post |date=2023-07-19}}

In 2007, the World Bank argued that the fund did "not seem justified from a welfare or fiscal perspective."{{cite web |title=West Bank and Gaza: Public Expenditure ReviewVolume 2 |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/373727616/World-Bank-Report-2007 |publisher=World Bank |access-date=28 July 2023}} By 2014, mounting criticism of the payments led to the PA transferring management of the Martyrs Fund to the Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission, of the PLO, which now disburses the government-funding to recipients and their families.{{cite news |title=Study: Palestinian Authority Paid Over $1 Billion to Terrorists in 4 Years |url=http://www.thetower.org/5007-study-palestinians-authority-paid-over-1-billion-to-terrorists-in-4-years/|access-date=5 June 2017|work=The Tower Magazine|date=25 May 2017}}

Prime Minister Netanyahu called the payments "an incentive for murder". The Israeli government, describing the payments as "glorifying terrorism", responded to the June 2016 murder of Hallel Yaffa Ariel by threatening to deduct the value of "martyr" payments from the tax and customs revenue it pays to the PA. Palestinians reject the idea that money is a key motive and say that "attackers are driven by despair over the chokehold of half a century of Israeli occupation or a desire to avenge others killed by Israelis".{{cite news |title=PA under pressure over 'martyr' stipends it pays to terrorists' families |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/pa-under-pressure-over-martyr-stipends-it-pays-to-terrorists-families/ |access-date=25 July 2016|work=Times of Israel|date=11 July 2016}}

The Washington Post's Fact Checker column examined Fund criticism by Netanyahu in "Does the Palestinian Authority pay $350 million a year to ‘terrorists and their families’?" and concluded that there were "Significant omissions and/or exaggerations. Some factual error may be involved but not necessarily."{{Cite web |date=2024-05-15 |title=About The Fact Checker - The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/07/about-fact-checker/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240515161807/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/07/about-fact-checker/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2024-05-15 |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=archive.ph}}

Speaking before the United Nations Security Council on 24 June 2017, Israeli ambassador Danny Danon, together with Oran Almog, one of the victims of the Maxim restaurant suicide bombing, demanded that the PA cease incentivizing terrorism by paying stipends to terrorists.[http://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/palestinian-authority/halamish-terrorist-will-receive-monthly-salary-from-palestinian-authority/2017/07/24/ Halamish Terrorist Will Receive Monthly Salary from Palestinian Authority], Jewish Press, 24 July 2017[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4993810,00.html Danon shows photos from Halamish terror attack at UN], YNET, Itamar Eichner, 24 July 2017{{cite news |title=After Halamish attack, Israel demands UN address PA terror payments |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/after-halamish-attack-israel-demands-un-address-pa-terror-payments/|access-date=25 July 2017|publisher=Times of Israel|date=25 January 2017}}

Under the Deduction Law, also known as the "Pay-for-Slay Law", the Israeli government since 2018 has withheld a portion of the taxes and tariffs it collects on behalf of the PA in the amount that the PA pays in martyr payments. The amount withheld each month equals one-twelfth of the total stipends paid by the PA in the previous year. These funds are the largest source of income for the PA.{{cite news |last1=Kershner |first1=Isabel |date=2018-07-03 |title=Israel Penalizes Palestinians for Payments to Prisoners and 'Martyrs' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/world/middleeast/israel-penalizes-palestinians-for-payments-to-prisoners-and-martyrs.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703190736/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/world/middleeast/israel-penalizes-palestinians-for-payments-to-prisoners-and-martyrs.html |archive-date=2018-07-03 |access-date=17 March 2025 |work=New York Times}}{{cite news |last1=Harkov |first1=Lahav |title=Gov't to deduct NIS 597m. from Palestinian Authority over 'pay for slay' |url=https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/political-security-cabinet-approves-freezing-pa-terror-funds-673510 |access-date=4 December 2023 |work=Jerusalem Post |date=2021-07-11}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Historic-anti-Pay-for-Slay-bill-passes-into-law-561378|title=Historic anti-Pay for Slay bill passes into law - Arab-Israeli Conflict - Jerusalem Post|website=www.jpost.com}} In July 2021, Israel deducted NIS 597 million for 2020, compared to total PA funding of NIS 517.4 million in 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/political-security-cabinet-approves-freezing-pa-terror-funds-673510|title=Gov't to deduct NIS 597m. from Palestinian Authority over 'pay for slay' - The Jerusalem Post}}

In September 2022 the Israeli government issued seizure orders for 10 million shekels that the PA transferred into the private accounts of security prisoners who were involved in deadly attacks.{{cite news |title=Israel launches operation to confiscate terror-linked funds 

|url=https://www.israelhayom.com/2022/09/20/israel-launches-operation-to-confiscate-terror-linked-funds/ |work=Israel Hayom |date=20 September 2022}}

In July 2018, Australia stopped A$10 million (US$7.5 million) in funding sent to the PA via the World Bank, instead routing the money to the UN Humanitarian Fund for the Palestinian Territories. The reason given was that they did not want the PA to use the funds to assist Palestinians convicted of politically motivated violence.{{cite news|title=Reallocation of aid to the Palestinian Authority |url=https://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/Pages/2018/jb_mr_180702a.aspx|access-date=3 July 2018 |work=Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade|date=2 July 2018}}

During the month of September 2016, the government of Germany has expressed concerns about the payment of foreign aid to the PA in the light of the use of these funds to incentivize terrorism and has promised to investigate the matter.{{cite news|last1=Paleggi|first1=Tamar|title=New law would deduct 'martyr' payments from Palestinian tax revenues|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/new-law-would-deduct-martyr-payments-from-palestinian-tax-revenues/|access-date=5 June 2017|work=Times of Israel|date=3 April 2017}}

In November 2019, the Netherlands cut the US$1.5 million per annum it paid directly to the Palestinian Authority over payments it makes to families of militants killed, hurt, or imprisoned by Israel.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Netherlands-cuts-aid-to-Palestinian-Authority-over-terrorist-salaries-608527|title=Netherlands cuts aid to Palestinian Authority over terrorist salaries - The Jerusalem Post}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/netherlands-halts-aid-palestinians-family-payments-191121123333913.html|title=Netherlands halts aid to Palestinians over family payments|website=AlJazeera|date= November 21, 2019|access-date=November 21, 2019}}

In 2016, Børge Brende, Foreign Minister of Norway, demanded that the PA cease using Norwegian foreign aid for "martyr" stipends. He was satisfied with an assurance that Norwegian funds would not be used for the stipends, although the change was purely "cosmetic" since PA funds are fungible.{{cite news|title=Abbas confirms PA still paying terrorists' salaries|work=Times of Israel|date=7 May 2016|id={{ProQuest|1787311864}}}}

Following the murder of Hallel Yaffa Ariel, a dual Israeli-U.S. national, in June 2016, the United States threatened to deduct the sums paid out to "martyrs" from the Martyrs Fund from the subsidies it grants to the PA. The murder of American Taylor Force by a Palestinian led to Congress passing and President Donald Trump signing the Taylor Force Act in 2018. The law cuts about a third of US foreign aid payments to the PA,{{cite news |title=Taylor Force Becomes Law|url=https://www.nysun.com/editorials/the-force-of-taylor-force/90222/ |access-date=3 July 2018|publisher=The New York Sun|date=23 March 2018}} until the PA ceases making payment of stipends to terrorists and their surviving families.{{cite news|last1=Tubbs|first1=Ashlyn|title=Senators introduce Taylor Force Act to cut terror attack funding|url=http://www.kcbd.com/story/33272315/senators-introduce-taylor-force-act-to-cut-terror-attack-funding|access-date=15 November 2016|publisher=KCBD|date=28 September 2016}}{{cite news|title=Pay for Slay in Palestine U.S. aid becomes a transfer payment for terrorists|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/pay-for-slay-in-palestine-1490653597|access-date=8 June 2017|work=Wall Street Journal|date=27 March 2017}}

The Biden administration resumed payments to the PA that have been used towards "pay to slay." Many commentators have also advised that any future payments to the PLO be conditioned on the complete cessation of funds going towards payments to murderers of Israeli or American civilians.{{Cite news |last1=Gerber |first1=Sander |last2=Koplow |first2=Michael |date=2022-07-12 |title=Opinion {{!}} No More 'Pay to Slay' |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/no-more-cash-for-terrorists-payments-west-bank-abbas-biden-visit-martyrs-washington-11657656402 |access-date=2023-07-27 |issn=0099-9660}} A lawsuit against Joe Biden and Antony Blinken was filed stating that the United States government funding such "pay to slay" terrorism is a violation of the Taylor Force Act passed in 2018 during the Trump administration.{{Cite web |title=Victims of Palestinian terror sue Biden admin for funding 'Pay for Slay' |url=https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-725545 |access-date=2023-07-27 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en-US}} Some commentators allege that the Biden administration may circumvent the Taylor Force Act by merely claiming that the funds are being made in support of Palestinian "humanitarian aims." Critics argue that by claiming to give funds in support of "humanitarian assistance" the Biden administration is claiming a loophole that does not exist, and that the funds may still be redirected with ease towards "pay to slay" ends. Numerous commentators criticize how easily the PA is able to re-direct American funds once received from the United States, towards "pay to slay" programs. Also, critics allege that it is unlikely that the PA is going to use all of the money received from the American government for strictly "humanitarian" purposes, on the basis that the majority of funds within the PA budget already as of 2023 go towards "pay to slay" and not "other welfare programs, as reported by The Jerusalem Post, "The perverse incentive used by the PA is that the more gruesome and worse the attack, the more money the imprisoned 'martyr' and his family receive through the Palestinian Authority’s Martyrs Fund. The PA spends nearly $350 million per year on "pay for slay", but just $220 million for its other welfare programs for the rest of its citizens."{{Cite web |title=Will Biden circumvent US law against 'pay for slay'? |url=https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/will-biden-circumvent-us-law-against-pay-for-slay-664006 |access-date=2023-07-27 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en-US}}

In 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case, Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization and United States v. Palestine Liberation Organization, to decide whether American victims of Palestinian attacks can sue the PLO and PA for damages based on support for such attacks through the program. The U.S. House of Representatives and a group of 17 Jewish groups each filed amicus curae briefs in support of the families.{{cite news |last1=Rod |first1=Marc |title=Supreme Court to hear case on Palestinian Authority's 'martyr' payments |url=https://jewishinsider.com/2025/02/supreme-court-hearing-palestinian-authority-terror-payments/ |access-date=10 February 2025 |work=Jewish Insider |date=2025-02-10}}

In 2016, the UK Department for International Development froze $30 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority over concern the aid was being used to fund salaries for Palestinian prisoners in Israel convicted in Israeli civilian courts of murder and terrorism.

The Palestinians point out the need to prevent a descent into poverty by these families, who are frequent victims of collective punishment such as demolition of housing and revoking of work permits{{cite news |title=UK freezes $30m in Palestinian aid over salaries for terrorists |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/uk-freezes-30m-in-aid-to-palestinians-over-payments-to-terrorists/ |access-date=7 January 2024 |work=Times of Israel |date=2016-10-07}}

Countering Palestinian Authority claims that this is a welfare fund, the World Bank has stated that, "the program is clearly not targeted to the poorest households. While some assistance should be directed to this population, the level of resources devoted to the Fund for Martyrs and the Injured does not seem justified from welfare or fiscal perspective."

{{reflist}}

• Kuperwasser, Yossi. [http://jcpa.org/paying-salaries-terrorists-contradicts-palestinian-vows-peaceful-intentions/ Incentivizing Terrorism: Palestinian Authority Allocations to Terrorists and Their Families], 2017. Published online and as a paperback

{{Palestine topics}}

Category:1964 establishments in Palestine

Category:Anti-Israeli sentiment in Palestine

Category:Economy of Palestine

Category:Welfare in Palestine

Category:Palestinian political violence