The Palestinian Authority has been facing widespread criticism over its decision to change the method of payment to Palestinian families of prisoners and “martyrs,” commonly referred to as “pay for slay.”
Over the past week, Palestinians have held protests in several cities, villages, and refugee camps across the West Bank, accusing PA President Mahmoud Abbas and the PA leadership of “disrespecting the sacrifices made by the Palestinian people.”
Notably, most of this criticism has been coming from individuals and bodies belonging to Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction. Some Palestinians warned that this uproar “could ignite large-scale unrest among the Palestinian public.”
Facing immense pressure from the United States, Israel, and other international parties, Abbas issued a decree earlier this year, canceling the long-standing pay-for-slay policy, under which Palestinians and the families of those killed while carrying out terrorist attacks against Israelis receive monthly stipends.
Instead of receiving payments based on their time spent in Israeli prison, terrorists and their families will now turn to a newly created body called the Palestinian National Economic Empowerment Institution (PNEEI), which will review eligibility for stipends according to economic need.
In a recent statement, the PNEEI – known in Arabic as Tamkeen – said its financial payments would comply with “international standards” and are granted “solely on the basis of social and economic necessity,” without any consideration for an individual’s political or security status or background.
“We reject the decision to treat the prisoners as welfare cases,” a young woman said at a rally in Tulkarm. “We will not resort to the Tamkeen institution. They [the prisoners, the wounded, and the families of the martyrs] lost their lives for the homeland.”
“The prisoners represent the essence of our national cause,” she said. “We will not give up our rights, and we will not remain silent.”
Abbas’s step to cut payments labeled 'political blackmail'
Another Palestinian said: “These are the unalienable rights of the prisoners, and they cannot be subject to political blackmail.”
Raed Abu al-Hummus, chairman of the PA-linked prisoners’ commission, said he understands the pressure exerted on Abbas and the PA leadership, but he and other senior Fatah officials are strongly opposed to the new system.
“Thousands of families and prisoners have been affected by this new measure, which is harmful to the struggle of the Palestinian people,” he said, adding that Maj.-Gen. Majed Faraj, head of the PA’s General Intelligence Service, and Mahmoud al-Aloul, deputy chairman of Fatah, were working to solve the crisis.
Another veteran Fatah official, Tawfik Tirawi, a former head of the General Intelligence Service, said: “Transferring this national issue to a body that deals with it as welfare cases is a dangerous insult to our national dignity and a blatant distortion of the sacrifices of those who fought for our people’s freedom and rights.”
“I appeal to my brothers in Fatah, especially members of the Fatah Central Committee, to launch an immediate, urgent, and thorough discussion to find national, rational, and moral solutions that fully safeguard the rights and dignity of our prisoners,” he said.
Leaders of several Fatah groups in different parts of the West Bank issued a statement that called for an immediate cancellation of the “disgraceful and unacceptable” measure. They also announced the cancellation of celebrations marking the anniversary of Fatah’s founding.
The issue of security prisoners has always been extremely sensitive for the Palestinian public, who view them as “heroes.” Abbas, 90, who is widely unpopular, evidently took a big gamble. His apparent decision to abolish the pay-for-slay system is mainly attributed to the financial and economic crisis in the PA.
The United States has been cutting funds to the PA since the Taylor Force Act was passed in Congress in 2018, banning financial aid to the PA unless it stops paying monthly salaries to terrorists. Israel is deducting and withholding hundreds of millions of shekels from tax revenues it collects on behalf of the PA.
“Ironically, the protests could end up playing into Abbas’s hands,” a Palestinian analyst said. “He can now show Israel and the Trump administration that his move to make reforms in the prisoners’ payments was not a scam.”
Tamkeen chairman Ahmed Majdalani has been targeted in recent days by a massive smear campaign. On Wednesday, Abbas denounced the attacks as unjustified and emphasized his determination to proceed with reforming the PA. He indicated that he has no intention of backtracking, but he also reaffirmed his commitment to the prisoners.
“Our loyalty to the heroic prisoners and our martyrs is firm and moral,” Abbas said.
The Palestinian analyst added, “President Abbas is desperate to signal to the Americans that he is serious about making major changes, not only regarding the payments to prisoners but also in other fields, including education and combating corruption. Now, he will exploit the outrage across society to prove that he is taking a big political and personal risk.”