The ‘pay-to-slay’ program remains alive inside the Palestinian Authority, despite public claims to the contrary, according to a newly disclosed State Department determination obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. The finding undercuts PA president Mahmoud Abbas’s assertion that he ended the terror stipend system in 2025 and raises fresh concerns as the Trump administration advances its Gaza peace plan.
According to the State Department notice, the PA paid more than $200 million to terrorists and their families in 2025 by shifting payments into a newly branded welfare structure. “Despite changing the mechanism for doing so, the PA continued the payments to Palestinian terrorists and their families during the reporting period,” the department concluded. Israeli intelligence assessed that the PA committed at least $214 million through 2025.
The report explains that the PA transferred responsibility to the Palestinian National Foundation for Economic Empowerment, describing it as social welfare. In reality, officials found that the pay-to-slay system continued from March through August 2025. The PA allegedly used post offices, social media, and encrypted messaging platforms to notify recipients that funds were available, “indicating clearly that compensation in support of terrorism has continued.”
Abbas announced in February 2025 that welfare would be based on need rather than prison sentences. Weeks later, however, he told the Fatah Revolutionary Council that “even if we only have one cent left, it will be for the prisoners and martyrs.”
The State Department warned that the rebranded program violates the Taylor Force Act. “A shift to a potential welfare system without ending specific payments and benefits for Palestinian terrorists and their families is not compliant,” the notice stated. It added that PA law still mandates monthly payments, including Law No. 14, which requires the PA to support terrorists while incarcerated.
Palestinian Media Watch recently documented identical payments sent to recipients in Jordan, suggesting the scale remains unchanged. “The payments now appear to be continuing in areas believed to be beyond direct donor oversight,” the group reported.
A Republican congressional staffer who specializes on issues related to Gaza summed up the concern telling the Washington Free Beacon, “They’re still paying terrorists, inciting violence, and refusing to disarm Hamas.”
