THE FACTS
What you need to know about the Palestinian Authority’s “Pay for Slay” policy.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has long maintained a policy of providing financial stipends to Palestinians imprisoned by Israel for offenses tied to the conflict, as well as to families of those killed or injured during clashes with Israeli forces. These payments are formalized through the PA’s Prisoners and Released Prisoners Law (2004, amended 2013) and are disbursed through the Martyrs and Prisoners Fund.
Policy Overview
2017 estimates: $160 million distributed to ~13,000 prisoners; $183 million distributed to ~33,700 'martyr' families.
The payments are often scaled with the severity of the sentence. Longer Prison Terms = Higher Stipends.
The policy has consumed hundreds of millions annually, representing a significant portion of the PA’s budget.
Israel has responded by deducting equivalent sums from tax transfers it collects on the PA’s behalf.
In 2017, combined payments to prisoners and families totaled roughly $355 million, representing about 7% of the Palestinian Authority’s annual budget.
February 2023: Israel ordered ~100M shekels (~U.S. $29M) to be withheld from PA funds for victim compensation, representing a doubling of typical monthly deductions.
Between 2011-2021: ~$11B was deducted
In 2022: ~$450M deducted
Financial Data
Israel argues that these payments incentivize terrorism and uses the phrase ‘Pay-for-Slay’ to frame the policy as rewarding violence. The Israeli government has enacted laws to freeze Palestinian Authority funds and reduce tax transfers accordingly. Internationally, the U.S. passed the Taylor Force Act in 2018, halting direct aid to the Palestinian Authority until these payments end. In 2024–25, new legislation such as the PLO and PA Terror Payments Accountability Act further targeted entities facilitating the stipends.
The Taylor Force Act of 2018: This act was named after a graduate student and U.S. Army Veteran who was killed by a Palestinian inside of Israel. This bill prohibits certain economic support assistance that directly benefits the Palestinian Authority from being made available for the West Bank and Gaza unless the Department of State certifies that the PA, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and any successor or affiliated organizations:
Are taking steps to end acts of violence against U.S. and Israeli citizens perpetrated by individuals under their jurisdictional control, such as the March 2016 attack that killed former Army officer Taylor Force
Have revoked any law, decree, or document authorizing or implementing a system of compensation for imprisoned individuals that uses the sentence or incarceration period to determine compensation
Have terminated payments for acts of terrorism against U.S. and Israeli citizens to any individual who has been fairly tried and imprisoned for such acts, to any individual who died committing such acts, and to family members of such an individual
Are publicly condemning such acts of violence and are investigating such acts.
The assistance limitation shall not be applied to: The East Jerusalem Hospital Network, Wastewater projects, and Children’s vaccination projects. The withheld funds will remain available for up to two years before being reallocated.
The Israeli and International Response
The Palestinian Authority defends these payments as a welfare program supporting the families impacted by conflict. It frames prisoners as political detainees or ‘resistance fighters’ rather than terrorists. Stopping payments, in this view, would abandon thousands of families who lost “breadwinners” or face financial ruin due to Israeli imprisonment. These payments MOSTLY support the families of those imprisoned by Israel. There are also a lot of convictions with Israel but not as many charges.
The Palestinian Perspective
Israel has detained roughly 1 million Palestinians since the beginning of conflict, including children.
70% of Palestinian families have had at least 1 relative detained by Israel. 15,000 children were detained between 2000 and 2017: 500-700 children per year.
More than a 99% conviction rate for Palestinians in military courts.
Payments to families and prisoners: +$350 monthly per family, +$100 if married, +$50 per each child.
In 2017: 13,000 prisoners received payments & 33,700 families received payments.
Following the October 7th attacks, the PA reportedly expanded its stipend list by thousands: 3,550 additional prisoners and 23,210 ‘martyrs’ were added. Of all the prisoners, 661 are Hamas operatives from Gaza. This expansion is estimated to increase monthly payments by about $1.33M, or $16M annually, on top of an already ~$161M budget for terror stipends.
Detentions and Payments
More Recent Developments
February 2025: PA President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree revoking payments to families of prisoners and martyrs. International media reported this as a reform under external pressure.
October 2025: The Jerusalem Post indicates payments may still be occurring via alternative channels, raising questions about the decree’s enforcement. Their report claims that PA just changed its methods to pay and now these terrorists are receiving money from Palestinian Post Office branches.
A debate continues internationally over whether the policy is truly ended or simply just repackaged.
1960s-1990s: The Palestine Liberation Organization develops early support networks for prisoners and families of martyrs. The payments were framed as solidarity and resistance funds. This laid the foundation for institutionalized stipends once the Palestinian Authority was created in the 1990s after the Oslo Accords.
2004: Palestinian Authority passes Prisoners and Released Prisoners Law (Law No. 19 of 2004). It guaranteed salaries, education benefits, and job preferences for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The law effectively made the stipends a permanent obligation of the PA budget.
2013: The law was amended to expand and reaffirm payments. The amendment reaffirmed stipends even with growing international criticisms, which signal that the Palestinian Authority viewed prisoner and martyr payments as politically untouchable. It strengthened the perception in Israel and the U.S. that the PA was rewarding violence rather than discouraging it.
2016: The murder of U.S. Army veteran Taylor Force in Tel Aviv marked the turning point that brought the Pay-for-Slay debate from NGO reports into mainstream U.S. politics.
2018: The U.S. passes the Taylor Force Act which cuts off most U.S. economic aid to the PA until it ended prisoner and martyr stipends. This act reinforces Israel’s claims that international donors were directly financing terrorism.
2019-2023: Israel began deducting the equivalent amount the Palestinian Authority spent on stipends before transferring any funds for tax transfers. This created a repeated PA budget crisis.
2025: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas signed a decree revoking any prisoner and martyr payments. By October, the Israeli and Palestinian media reported that payments may still be continuing through alternate channels which raises doubts about enforcement. These payments are allegedly continuing through Palestinian Post Office branches. Critics argue that the decree was symbolic, but supporters view it as the first acknowledgment that the policy is unsustainable under international scrutiny.
October 25th, Telegram channels were reporting that “the salaries of the prisoners, the wounded, and the Martyrs have arrived at the post office”
Timeline of Key Events
We should care because the ‘Pay-for-Slay’ system directly shapes U.S. aid, Israeli security policy, and global diplomacy.
Billions of dollars in international funds flow into the region and how the Palestinian Authority allocates money tells everyone whether leaders are prioritizing peace or creating more conflict.
For Israel, this is evidence that the PA incentivizes violence. For Palestinians, it’s a survival safety net. If we ignore it, it means missing one of the core financial levers in the conflict
Why should we care?
Gen Z should take away that the Palestinian Authority has a law that guarantees monthly salaries to people that are imprisoned for attacking Israelis and their families.
These payments add up to hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
The reason it matters is because international aid money and tax transfer are tied to this system. This isn’t just about war headlines but about how governments use money, laws, and narratives to fight over legitimacy.