Originally published in Makor Rishon.
“Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” By that measure, the Palestinian Authority values terrorism above peace.
Recent reporting shows the PA paid $70 million to newly released convicted terrorists — men serving life sentences for brutally murdering Israelis or other nationals — as part of its so-called “pay-for-slay” program. Many of these payments reward the deadliest attacks. This is not a fringe policy; it is a central feature of the PA’s compensation scheme. This practice incentivizes terror. It says: kill Israelis, suffer a term in jail, then get rewarded by your government. That is a grotesque inversion of justice. For decades the global community has looked the other way.
Meanwhile, the peace plan under discussion envisions the PA as a potential long-term governor of Gaza and a partner for a Palestinian state. Yet how can a body that pays murderers be trusted to govern responsibly? If the PA seeks legitimacy—and if Israel and the world seek a durable peace—they must make a clear demand: stop pay for slay immediately.
Funding for the PA’s deplorable pay for slay policy comes, at least indirectly, from aid grants from western countries, and from taxes collected by Israel and delivered to the PA. Israel must freeze or offset the funds from taxes collected and delivered to the PA by Israel. And donor countries who pay the bulk of international donor funding for the PA —like The EU (18.9 %), the United States (14.2 %), Saudi Arabia (9.9 %), Germany (5.8 %), the UAE (5.2 %) – must unambiguously condition any future donations on the explicit and verifiable promise that the PA will cease all pay for slay payments. Doing so will send a clear message to the terrorists, the PA, and the world that responsible governance will never be entrusted to those who financially reward terrorists.
Recognition of a “State of Palestine” is now a fact across much of the world. With statehood comes state responsibility. The PA claims to act like a state. If so, it should be held to the same standards. That means accountability for sponsoring terrorism: in U.S. courts under the Anti‑Terrorism Act, before the International Court of Justice, and in every jurisdiction that holds states responsible for sponsorship of terror.
The PA now stands at a crossroads. With many countries’ recognition and the possibility of governing Gaza’s reconstruction, the PA has a unique chance to abandon its feckless kleptocracy and finally lead Palestinians to a future of economic growth, education, and stability. But that future is incompatible with pay-for-slay. A leadership that pays killers cannot credibly lead. A government that glorifies violence cannot build a state.
There must be a choice. Terror payments or nation-building — not both. The world must insist that the PA end its terror-payment program—not in some vague future, but now. Because peace is impossible when murder still pays.