The Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund: What Is the ‘Pay-to-Slay’ Policy?
- Ofek Kehila
- Nov 4
- 3 min read
As part of the ceasefire struck between Israel and Hamas in the aftermath of the Gaza war, some 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners were released from Israeli jails, including hundreds of terror convicts.
According to a recent report by the Palestinian Media Watch, 160 of the released prisoners will go out of jail as millionaires thanks to decades of monthly payments made by the Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund.
What is the Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund?
Since the 1960s, the Palestinian movement Fatah and later the Palestinian Authority (PA) have been paying its imprisoned militants and the families of the dead and wounded in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The current incarnation of this financial program is the Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund.
The PA Martyrs Fund has been providing monthly financial support for both the families of Palestinians who were killed or injured in acts of violence against Israelis and the Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons due to terrorism offenses. Totaling an annual average of $300 million, the Martyrs Fund’s budget represents no less than 7% of the Palestinian Authority’s annual budget, a huge amount of money, especially if we consider the severe financial crises experienced by the PA over the years.
A welfare program or a “pay-to-slay” policy?
The Palestinian law considers it a public obligation to protect and care for the welfare of prisoners and their families. However, the fact that many of those prisoners are now being released from Israeli jails as millionaires suggests that the PA Martyrs Fund is more than a mere welfare program.
Whereas supporters of the Palestinian cause defend the program, many others harshly criticize it, arguing that it rewards Palestinians for committing acts of violence and terrorism against Israelis, or in other words, a “pay-to-slay” policy: the more Israelis a terrorist murders, the more money he and his family will get from the PA. In the US, a group of American victims of Palestinian terrorism filed a federal lawsuit against the PA over the pay-to-slay policy. A detailed report of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs concludes that the PA Martyrs Fund is essentially a government incentive system to kill Israelis, constituting a major obstacle to peace between Israel and Palestine. “The Palestinian Authority’s institutionalized and legislated salary payments of more than $300 million annually to imprisoned terrorists and the families of terrorists who died while carrying out terror attacks reflect the ironclad formal commitment of the PA and its leadership to incentivize Palestinian society to commit acts of terror. This constitutes the major obstacle to peace and a violation of all the commitments of the Palestinians in their internationally guaranteed agreements with Israel. As such, it casts a dark shadow over the international donor community’s assistance to the PA. This state of affairs is intolerable, immoral, and must be rectified.”
The future of the Martyrs Fund
Earlier this year, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree canceling laws that facilitated financial support to families of prisoners in Israeli jails or to families of terrorists killed during attacks. Possibly, this means that the Martyrs Fund will be replaced by a new welfare program less harmful to Israeli civilians.
Whereas Hamas and other terrorist organizations condemned this decision, it was welcomed by many nations. It may prove a vital step toward the advancement of peace between Israel and Palestine, especially in the context of ongoing negotiations to end the Gaza war. A statement issued by the German Federal Foreign Office reads: “The German Government welcomes President Abbas’ decision to abolish the so‑called Martyrs Fund. The Palestinian Authority (PA) has replaced it with a social security system whose benefits are related to families’ needs and not to the term for which a family member has been imprisoned. By abolishing the martyrs' payment system, the PA is signalling that it is prepared to tackle reforms, even when they are difficult. Together with the European Union, we will support the PA as it continues along the path of reform.”
Wrap up
Time will tell if Mahmoud Abbas and the PA will move forward with the abolishment of the Martyrs Fund, the end of the “pay-to-slay” policy, and other much-needed reforms. These crucial steps will not only improve the dire financial situation of the PA, but may also chart a new path for peace and understanding with Israel.
Ofek Kehila (Israel, 1987) is a scholar of Spanish Golden Age literature and Latin American literature of the 20th and 21st centuries. His research bridges the gap between those traditions, highlighting their aesthetic, cultural, and historical dialogue. He holds a PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2022) and was a postdoctoral fellow at Freie Universität Berlin (2023-2025).