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Palestinian Authority Commits to Pay $97 Million a Year to Hamas
(Washington Free Beacon) Andrew Tobin - Since Oct. 7, the PA has doubled down on its longstanding "pay for slay" policy, which gives salaries and benefits to Palestinians imprisoned for involvement in violence against Israel and to the families of those killed. The PA has committed to pay out more than $97 million in such payments for more than 13,000 Hamas terrorists in the year following Oct. 7. IDF Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, former director general of Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs, said, "The Palestinian Authority is responsible for creating an incentive system and a mindset that made Oct. 7 possible in the first place, and they are too weak and unpopular to stop it from happening again." In 2018, the PA allocated $340 million to "pay for slay," according to Kuperwasser's authoritative research. The payments accounted for 7% of the PA's budget and benefited just 1 to 2% of the population. PA officials have affirmed that "pay for slay" will be extended to every "martyr" and prisoner of Oct. 7 and its aftermath. The families of "all those martyred and wounded as a result of being participants or bystanders in the revolution" are entitled to an immediate one-time grant of $1,700, followed by a lifetime annual salary of at least $4,700, similar to the average West Bank income. Salaries for prisoners increase with the length of incarceration.