The Palestinian Authority agreed Monday to end the so-called “Pay to Slay” policy of paying stipends to Palestinian terrorists, alive or dead — though Israel said that the Palestinian government was simply trying to reroute the funds.
On the surface, the move is a major victory for President Donald Trump, who signed the Taylor Force Act in 2018, cutting off U.S. taxpayer funds to the Palestinian Authority as long as it continued to subsidize terror. Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas sacrificed U.S. assistance rather than ending the payments to terrorists in Israeli prisons or to the families of terrorists killed by Israel — payments that amounted to half of all foreign aid received.
After 2020, President Joe Biden tried restoring funding to the Palestinian Authority through a variety of circuitous methods, leading to legal challenges that claimed his administration was violating the Taylor Force Act.
With President Trump returning to office, the Palestinian Authority seemed to have decided to change its policy.
The Times of Israel reported Monday that the decision was a “major win” for Trump:
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas signed a decree on Monday canceling legislation that conditioned welfare payments to Palestinian security prisoners on the length of their sentences in Israeli jails, in addition to providing stipends to the families of terrorists killed while carrying out attacks.
The decree states that families of prisoners and slain attackers who require welfare assistance will be eligible for stipends based solely on their financial needs, as is the case with other Palestinians.
However, skeptics criticized the move, saying the Palestinian Authority simply intended to continue the payments through an “independent” foundation:
I see headlines claiming that the Palestinian Authority is canceling its payments to terrorists and their families, a program known as "pay for slay." They are doing no such thing - They themselves say the payments "are subject to the same standards." The PA is just restructuring…
— Lahav Harkov 🎗️ (@LahavHarkov) February 10, 2025
