Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas At Fatah Revolutionary Council Session: We Will Not Stop The Payments To The Prisoners And The Martyrs' Families

Palestinian Authority (PA) President and Fatah head Mahmoud Abbas remains committed to his position that the "pay-to-slay" payments – namely payments to prisoners convicted of terror against Israelis and to the families of Palestinians slain in the course of terror activity – must continue. In a February 20, 2025 speech at the 12th session of Fatah's Revolutionary Council, he underscored that the PA would continue these payments, saying: "I told you once, and I stand by my word, that if we have only a single penny left, it will go to the prisoners and the martyrs. I will not allow [anyone] – and neither will you – to remove any commitment, interest, or penny that is given to them." The closing statement of the Revolutionary Council session, issued on February 22, affirmed the council's commitment to "redouble the efforts to support and assist the prisoners in the occupation jails," describing them as "heroes of [the struggle for] freedom who are first in line for protection and sponsorship."

These statements from Abbas and the Revolutionary Council contradict reports that Abbas has decided to stop these payments due to the U.S. pressures and sanctions that have been imposed on the PA because of them. Abbas did recently issue an executive order making a technical change to the payment procedure, tying it to socio-economic factors instead of the severity of the crime, so as to present the payments as welfare rather than encouragement of terrorism.

The executive order sparked intense criticism from both Abbas' opponents and his associates, and his statements to the Revolutionary Council were presumably meant to appease these critics. It should also be noted that the PA apparently attempted to conceal these statements, since the version of the speech that was aired on Palestinian television and posted on Abbas' Facebook account did not include them.  

Abbas at the Revolutionary Council session (Image: Wafa.ps, February 20, 2025)

Over the years, MEMRI has closely monitored the issue of the PA's payments to prisoners, released prisoners and the families of martyrs. They were detailed at length in a testimony by Yigal Carmon, MEMRI president and co-founder, before the U.S. Congress on July 6, 2016, as well as in many MEMRI reports on this issue (see the Appendix).

The following is a translation of Abbas' remarks at the Revolutionary Council session reiterating his commitment to the payments; a review of the payments provided over the years by the PA to prisoners and to martyrs' families, and details about Abbas' recent executive order on this issue and the responses to it.  

Abbas: If We Have Only A Single Penny Left, It Will Go To The Prisoners And The Martyrs

In his February 20, 2025 speech to the Fatah Revolutionary Council, Abbas said: "I would like to reiterate that we are proud of the sacrifices of the martyrs, the prisoners, and the wounded… I told you once, and I stand by my word, that if we have only a single penny left, it will go to the prisoners and the martyrs. I will not allow [anyone] – and neither will you – to remove any commitment, interest, or penny that is given to them. They must receive everything they did in the past, and they are more honorable than all of us."

To view a MEMRI TV clip of Abbas' statements at the council, click below:

It should be noted that Abbas made similar remarks on July 23, 2018 at a Ramallah ceremony in honor of prisoners, saying: "If we had only a single penny left, we would pay it to families of the martyrs and prisoners."[1]

Fatah Revolutionary Council: The Prisoners Incarcerated In Israel Are "Heroes Of Freedom"; We Will Redouble The Efforts To Support And Assist Them 

In its closing statement, the Revolutionary Council of the Fatah movement, which is headed by Abbas, affirmed the council's commitment to supporting the prisoners and the martyrs' families, describing them as "heroes of freedom" who fought the occupation. The statement said: "The Fatah movement welcomes the prisoners who were recently released, and is preparing to integrate them in the national organizational frameworks. We shall redouble our efforts to support and assist the prisoners in the occupation's jails… Fatah reaffirms its staunch commitment to sponsoring the families of the martyrs, the prisoners and the wounded, for they are heroes of freedom and are first in line for protection and sponsorship – and this  has been Fatah's way from its inception. We underscore our nation's right to resist the occupation, as stated in the international laws and rules relevant to confronting the terror or the Israeli occupation." 

The statement also called for the implementation of the right of return, namely the return of the Palestinian refugees and their descendants to their original homes inside Israel: "In light of the plots to banish [the Palestinians from Gaza], it is paramount to implement the right of return, which is mentioned in UN General Assembly Resolution 194 from 1949. Any return or movement of the population must be to the cities and villages from which our fathers and forefathers were expelled." The statement added that "Fatah stresses the central role of UNRWA and the vital need to continue its services and confront the occupation's attempts to stop [them] and to destroy [UNRWA's] centers. It calls on our Arab nation and on the international community to fulfill their responsibility to protect UNRWA and provide it with the funds it requires."[2]

The PA's Payment Procedure: The Size Of The Prisoners' Payments Is Directly Proportional To The Length Of Their Prison Sentence, And Hence To The Severity Of Their Crimes

The PA invests significant sums in underwriting the expenses of the imprisoned terrorists and their families.

The monthly salary paid to prisoners depends on the length of their prison sentence – which reflects the severity of the crimes they committed – with prisoners sentenced to 30 years or more receiving over ten times as much as prisoners sentenced to under three years. In addition to the basic allowance, prisoners receive a canteen and a clothing allowance, and some prisoners – such as Israeli Arabs or prisoners who carried out attacks in Jerusalem – receive special bonuses.

In addition to the monthly salaries, the prisoners and their families, as well as the families of terrorists killed or wounded in action, are entitled  to a wide range of benefits,  including exemption from various fees for education, professional training and healthcare. Moreover, upon their release, the prisoners are guaranteed  a post as PA civil servants, with  the years spent in prison calculated as part of their tenure and this ensuring that those who served the longest sentences continue to receive the highest pay.

In response to international criticism of its payments for terrorists and their families, the PA has occasionally claimed that the funds and benefits they receive are merely welfare benefits of the sort provided to all Palestinian families in need. However, the figures show that the payments and benefits provided to the terrorists and their families are much more generous than those provided to needy families. Moreover, the monthly payments to terrorists and their families are paid out regardless of the recipient's socioeconomic situation.[3]

Abbas Executive Order Makes Procedural Changes To The Prisoner Payments, So As To Present Them As Social Aid Rather Than Encouragement Of Terror

Shortly before his statements at the Revolutionary Council in which he reiterated his commitment to continuing the payments, Abbas attempted to make a show of complying with the U.S. pressures over the recent years to stop these payments, which reward terrorists and their families. His goal was to ease the economic crisis caused by the suspension of the American aid to the PA and by Israel's deduction of the prisoner's payments from tax revenues owed to the PA. On February 10, 2025 Abbas issued an executive order to change the PA's criteria for prisoner payments, tying them to socio-economic factors rather than the severity of the crime. In order to distance the PA from these payment, the order also transferred the responsibility for making them to an "independent" body, the Palestinian National Institute for Economic Empowerment.[4] The PA news agency WAFA clarified that the executive order was issued in order to "strengthen the status of the State of Palestine," "safeguard the supreme national interests" and "lift the economic siege" imposed by Israel on the PA by deducting the prisoner payments from the tax revenues.[5]

Palestinian media presented the executive order as a "gesture of good will" by Abbas to the Trump administration, but noted that it was aimed primarily at withholding payments from groups opposed to the PA leadership, including members of terror organizations like Hamas.[6]

The order sparked intense criticism from Palestinians,[7] including from elements within the PA, and Abbas' statements to the Revolutionary Council stressing his ongoing commitment to the payments was apparently an attempt to allay this criticism. Fatah official Tawfiq Al-Tirawi complained that the order had been issued without an in-depth discussion and without the approval of the movement's institutions.[8]  Qadura Fares, head of the Commission for Prisoner Affairs – a major body that coordinates the support for the prisoners on behalf of the PA – held a dramatic press conference on this issue, at which he stated that the executive order had "surprised" him. He added that an issue of such national importance should have been discussed at the PLO National Council, and called on Abbas to cancel the order "immediately."[9]  One week later Abbas issued an order forcing Fares to retire.[10]

According to PA sources, Fares was actually involved in the discussions of this issue in the last two years, but advocated finding a different way to handle the U.S. pressures that would not detract from the status of the prisoners and martyrs or brand them "socially disadvantaged."[11] His dismissal from his post sparked another wave of criticism, both from the terrorist organizations[12] and from elements in the PA. The former head of the Commission for Prisoner Affairs, Issa Qaraqe, gave an interview to Hamas' mouthpiece Al-Risalah in which he supported Fares' position and stressed that aiding the prisoners is "a national and moral duty" that must not be relinquished under any circumstances, out of respect for the many sacrifices made in the course of the history of the Palestinian struggle.[13]

Appendix: MEMRI Reports On The PA Payments To Prisoners And Martyrs' Families

Special Dispatch No. 9436, Palestinian Authority Introduces New System For Payment Of Allowances To Terrorists And Their Families; Recipients Will Now Withdraw Funds From Postal Bank Via ATMs In Post Offices, July 8, 2021

Special Dispatch 9380, Palestinian President 'Abbas Grants $42,000 To Family Of Terrorist Who Killed Two Israeli Civilians, June 7, 2021

Inquiry & Analysis Series 1544, Shift In Palestinian Authority's Policy Towards Israel Following Biden Electoral Win, Arab Peace Agreements With Israel, December 22, 2020

Special Dispatch 8042, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: Palestinian Authority Facing Financial Crisis, But We Refuse To Accept Money From Israel If Salary Of Martyrs' Families Is Deducted, May 1, 2019

Special Dispatch 7980 Palestinian Authority, Fatah Continue Official Support And Encouragement Of Armed Struggle Against Israel, April 2, 2019

Special Dispatch 7736, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: We Will Continue To Pay The Families Of Martyrs, Prisoners, And The Wounded; There Are Six Million Palestinian Refugees, October 30, 2018

Special Dispatch 7583, Palestinian Authority (PA) President 'Abbas: 'If We Had Only A Single Penny Left, We Would Pay It To Families Of The Martyrs And Prisoners', July 24, 2018

Special Dispatch 7100, 'Abbas Ahead Of UNGA Speech: I Will Continue Payments To Families Of Prisoners And Martyrs, September 20, 2017

Special Dispatch 7070, Palestinian Media Stresses: President Mahmoud 'Abbas Refuses To Halt Payments To Prisoners, Families Of Martyrs, August 28, 2017

Inquiry and Analysis No. 1327, 2017 Palestinian Authority Budget Shows: Salaries, Benefits For Prisoners, Released Prisoners Several Times Higher Than Welfare For Needy, August 22, 2017

Special Dispatch No. 7001, 'Abbas, PA Officials, Reaffirm Commitment To Continue Paying Allowances To Prisoners And Martyrs' Families, July 10, 2017

Inquiry & Analysis Series 1321, Palestinian Authority, PLO Officials: Allowances To Prisoners Will Continue; 'This Issue Is Not Subject To U.S.-Israeli Extortion', June 16, 2017

MEMRI President Yigal Carmon's Testimony To House Committee On Foreign Affairs, July 6, 2016: Palestinian Authority Support For Imprisoned, Released, And Wounded Terrorists And Families Of 'Martyrs', July 6, 2016