Abbas regarding terrorists’ salaries: if left with a penny, we will divide it among the children of the Martyrs, prisoners and wounded
Official PA TV News
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: “Taking care of the children of the Martyrs is an important thing, because the Martyrs are the most precious thing we have. You know how much we take care of the issue of the Martyrs, prisoners, and wounded, and the battle that we are currently experiencing with the Americans and the Israelis, as they want us not to pay the allowances to these families (refers to Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018 and Anti “Pay-for-Slay” Law; see notes below –Ed.). Be absolutely certain that if we are left with [just] one penny we will divide it into three parts – one for the children of the Martyrs, one for the children of the wounded, and one for the children of the prisoners. We will not leave them prey to hunger or poverty. This issue has been sacred for us since [Fatah’s establishment in] 1965.”
Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018 - Among other things, this law gives US courts the jurisdiction to seize assets from any body that receives foreign aid from the US government, viewing their acceptance of US foreign aid as consent to US jurisdiction. This enables past and present victims of terror to successfully pursue lawsuits in US courts against such bodies that were connected in any way to the acts of terror. In the past many such cases have been thrown out due to lack of US jurisdiction. The law took effect on Feb. 1, 2019. In response to the law, the PA requested that the US end all of its foreign aid to the PA, which it did.
Israel's Anti "Pay-for-Slay" Law - Israeli law stating that the PA payments to terrorists and the families of dead terrorists is a financial incentive to terror. The law instructs the state to deduct and freeze the amount of money the PA pays in salaries to imprisoned terrorists and families of "Martyrs" from the tax money Israel collects for the PA. Should the PA stop these payments for a full year, the Israeli government would have the option of giving all or part of the frozen money to the PA. The law was enacted by the Israeli Parliament on July 2, 2018. During the parliamentary vote, the law's sponsor Avi Dichter said: “The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee received much help in its deliberations... from Palestinian Media Watch who provided us with authentic data that enabled productive and professional deliberations, nuances that are very difficult to achieve without precise data.” [Israeli Parliament website, July 2, 2018] In accordance with the law, as of September 2021 Israel’s Security Cabinet had ordered the freeze of 1.857 billion shekels ($580.15 million) - the sum equivalent to the PA payments to terrorists in 2018, 2019, and 2020.