Pay-for-slay to continue, ‘even if we have [only] one penny left,’ Abbas vows
The Fatah Revolutionary Council vowed to “double its efforts” to support terrorist prisoners.
The Palestinian Authority will not deduct a single penny from its “pay-for-slay” fund that rewards terrorists and their families for their attacks, P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas told members of his ruling Fatah faction last week, according to translated remarks Palestinian Media Watch published on Thursday.
“We again emphasize that we are proud of the sacrifices made by the martyrs, prisoners and wounded [terrorists],” the P.A. leader said at the Feb. 21 gathering of the Revolutionary Council—Fatah’s second-highest body, which is chaired by Abbas—in Ramallah, Samaria.
“I told you once and I stand by my word: Even if we have [only] one penny left, it is for the prisoners and the martyrs,” he continued, echoing previous remarks made during a July 23, 2018, address in the Palestinian city.
The P.A. “will not agree to reduce any obligation, any interest, or any penny given to them,” Abbas said. He concluded, “They must receive everything, as in the past, and they are more precious than all of us.”
In a statement issued following its annual gathering last week, the Revolutionary Council reiterated Fatah’s “commitment to supporting the families of martyrs, prisoners and injured individuals, emphasizing that they are ‘heroes of freedom’ who deserve top priority in terms of protection and care,” the P.A.’s official Wafa news agency reported.
The Palestinian faction was preparing to integrate terrorists released under the current hostage deal with Gaza-based Hamas into “the movement and national frameworks,” the announcement noted.
According to Wafa, the Revolutionary Council vowed to “double its efforts” to support prisoners. “Mercy for the martyrs, freedom for the prisoners and healing for the wounded,” the statement concluded.
Although international media have interpreted a Feb. 10 statement by Abbas as ending the P.A.’s “pay-for-slay” program, which it calls the “Martyrs’ Fund,” in which terrorists and their families are rewarded monthly stipends for attacking Jews, the announcement said Ramallah was transferring its payment allocation system from a ministry to an “independent” foundation.
Ramallah has made similar announcements in the past when facing Western scrutiny. In 2014, when the “pay-for-slay” program first made news, the P.A. felt its funding sources threatened. It declared that it was closing the Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs and no longer paying stipends.
Prisoner payments are popular among the public in P.A.-controlled areas, with 91% supporting them, according to a 2017 poll.
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