Feb 12, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Trump admin welcomes reform of Palestinian prisoner payments dubbed "pay for slay"

Barak Ravid

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas listens President Trump makes a statement for the press before a meeting at the Palace Hotel during the 72nd United Nations General Assembly on September 20, 2017, in New York. — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and President Trump during a 2017 meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

The Trump administration welcomed on Wednesday Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' decision to revoke the system of payments to families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails or to families of Palestinians who were killed or wounded during attacks against Israelis.

Why it matters: The Trump administration's positive response is an achievement for the Palestinian Authority, which wanted to prove that it conducted a serious reform in the payment system that was dubbed by its critics "pay for slay."

The U.S. and Israel have argued for years that the system incentivized attacks on Israelis, and they repeatedly demanded that the Palestinian Authority revoke it.
While Israel outright rejected the reform carried out by the Palestinian president, calling it "a fraud," the Trump administration's statement indicates it does not automatically adopt the Israeli interpretation.

Driving the news: According to Abbas' presidential decree, all the payment system and its database will move from the Palestinian government to a new independent entity called the Palestinian National Foundation for Economic Empowerment.

In addition, the criteria for getting welfare allowances has been changed. The payment will not be connected anymore to the amount of jail time a prisoner was sentenced to or to whether a Palestinian was killed during an attack on Israelis, but only to the social economic needs of the family.

What they're saying: A State Department spokesperson told reporters that the announcement by the Palestinian Authority that they have ended the prisoner payment program "appears to be a positive step and a big win for the Trump Administration."

The spokesperson added: "We welcome any and all steps to end this abhorrent practice. We will monitor how the law is implemented over the coming weeks and months, and will verify that the practice has ended."

Behind the scenes: Palestinian officials said earlier this week after the presidential decree was published that Abbas' top aide spoke on the phone with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and discussed the issue.

U.S. and Palestinian officials said that in the past 48 hours State Department and White House lawyers reviewed it to see if it conforms with the Taylor Force Act.
The law prohibited the U.S. government from providing any direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority as long as it gives payments to Palestinians involved in such attacks.
The State Department spokesperson didn't say whether the reform conformed with the law.

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Trump admin welcomes reform of Palestinian prisoner payments dubbed "pay for slay"

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