Pay-for-slay returned to the center of international scrutiny after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused the Palestinian Authority of fueling terrorism following a deadly attack that killed two Israelis. The pay-for-slay controversy resurfaced Friday after Palestinian terrorists murdered 19-year-old Aviv Maor and 68-year-old Mordechai Shimshon in northern Israel.
Sa’ar directly blamed the Palestinian Authority’s long-running policy of compensating terrorists and their families. In a public warning, he wrote, “Don’t believe Mahmoud Abbas’ lies. The Palestinian Authority’s payments to terrorists and their families haven’t stopped.” He added that the PA continues payments to “families of ‘martyrs,’ jailed terrorists and released terrorists,” accusing officials of disguising funds as pensions.
The pay-for-slay program gained international attention after the 2016 murder of Taylor Force, a U.S. Army veteran. President Trump signed the Taylor Force Act in 2018, cutting U.S. aid to the PA unless the payments stopped.
Despite PA claims of reform, Israeli security experts dispute those assertions. Kobi Michael of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies said there has been “no substantial change in Palestinian Authority policy with regard to the payments to terrorists.” He described the PA’s actions as a “façade” designed to mislead donors while allowing pay-for-slay to continue under new mechanisms.
A PA-linked organization, Tamkeen, rejected the accusation, stating the system tied to prison sentences “has been completely and permanently abolished.” Israeli officials and analysts remain unconvinced.
Michael warned Western governments that recognizing a Palestinian state without addressing terrorism funding only encourages continued violence. He said the Trump administration remains the only one “applying pressure on the Palestinian Authority.”
