One of the greatest obstacles to peace and negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians is the continued incitement against Israel and support for violence by the Palestinian Authority (PA).
In an effort to combat this continuing support for violence and terrorism, both Israel and the United States have enacted laws meant to penalize the PA for any financial backing that it offers to Palestinian perpetrators of violence and terrorism.
In the US, one of the most important pieces of anti-Palestinian terror legislation is the Taylor Force Act.
Summary of the Taylor Force Act:
- Since 2004, the PA has been paying stipends to the families of Palestinians killed or wounded during attacks on Israelis as well as Palestinian security prisoners and their families.
- This policy, known as “pay-for-slay,” accounts for millions of dollars in the PA’s budget every year.
- In late 2017, the US Congress passed the Taylor Force Act, which conditions American aid to the PA on the Authority’s renunciation of terror and pay-for-slay.
- The Act is named for Taylor Force, an American military veteran and student who was killed by a Palestinian terrorist during a 2016 visit to Israel.
Here is a look at the history of the Taylor Force Act as well as its effectiveness in combating the PA’s material support for violence and terrorism.
Did you know that Palestinian terrorists & their families are financially rewarded for the murder of Jews?
The Palestinian "Pay For Slay" Martyrs' Fund incentivizes violence & glorifies terror.
Does your media mention Pay For Slay when Palestinian terrorists attack Israelis? pic.twitter.com/OPCAfxrKQg
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 2, 2023
Pay-For-Slay: The PA’s Financial Support of Terrorism
In 2004, the Palestinian Authority passed a law that entitled those Palestinians or Israeli Arabs who were imprisoned for committing terrorist acts against Israeli targets to financial compensation.
This policy of financially backing terrorists has become known as “pay-for-slay.”
As stipulated in Section 2 of the Amended Palestinian Prisoners Law Number 19, the financial compensation is justified as these violent prisoners are an “integral part of the fabric of Arab Palestinian society.”
The amount of money that each prisoner receives on a monthly basis is primarily contingent on the length of the prison term, which is correlated to the severity of the crime.
According to information gleaned from Palestinian records, prisoners serving a sentence of up to 3 years are entitled to a base payment of 1,400 shekels (approximately $400) a month while those sentenced to 30 years or more are entitled to 12,000 shekels (almost $3500) a month.
As well, any released prisoner who served 10 years or more is entitled to a monthly salary as a civil servant.
In addition to these monthly payments, the PA also grants these security prisoners a clothing stipend as well as funds to use in the prison canteen.
The Martyrs’ Fund
Alongside its payments to imprisoned terrorists, the PA also operates the Fund for Families of Martyrs, which gives money to the families of those who were killed while taking part in violent or terrorist acts against Israeli targets.
These payments include a one-time payment of 6,000 shekels (approximately $1700) as well as a base payment of 1,400 shekels a month.
Every month, these pay-for-slay payments (which account for approximately 7% of the PA’s entire budget) are doled out to approximately 35,000 prisoners and families of killed terrorists.
Related Reading: Follow the Money: Media Absent as Palestinian Authority Fails to Meet ‘Minimum’ US Transparency Requirements
“Social Welfare”
According to the Palestinian Authority and its defenders, these payments are not compensation for violence but are akin to social welfare and are meant to support families who have lost their primary “breadwinner.” However, this claim is belied by a number of salient facts:
- Palestinian security prisoners and families of killed terrorists receive much more money than Palestinian welfare recipients. The maximum Palestinian welfare payment is 5% of the maximum pay-for-slay payment.
- Payments to prisoners are contingent upon the length of the prison term, not the economic needs of the prisoner or their family.
- Payments are sent directly to the prisoner. It is up to the prisoner to decide whether to send the money to their family.
- Single prisoners with no dependents still receive pay-for-slay payments from the Palestinian Authority.
It is this pay-for-slay policy that the Taylor Force Act is meant to combat.
Related Reading: Palestinian Terror Payments: Pay For Slay
The Taylor Force Act: Defunding Terror
Taylor Force was a US Army veteran who had served tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq. As part of his MBA program at Vanderbilt University, Force visited Israel in the summer of 2016. While touring Jaffa, Force was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist who went on a stabbing rampage before being killed by Israeli security forces.
Since Taylor Force’s murderer was killed while committing terrorism, his family receives a monthly payment from the PA’s Martyrs’ Fund.
This financial reward for the family of a terrorist was the driving force behind the adoption of the Taylor Force Act.
The Act was passed by Congress in late 2017 with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law in early 2018.
According to the Act’s text, America shall withhold financial aid “that directly supports the Palestinian Authority” unless it can be determined that the PA has ceased its policy of pay-for-slay and has taken public steps to curb Palestinian terrorism.
The three exceptions to this Act are funding for the East Jerusalem Hospital Network, wastewater projects, and children’s vaccinations.
Other Laws to Combat PA Financial Support for Terror
While the Taylor Force Act is perhaps the most famous piece of legislation to counter Palestinian terrorism, there are a number of other American laws that help to combat the PA’s financial support for terrorism and violence against Israelis.
These include the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022.
In addition, in 2018, the Israeli Knesset passed a law that was inspired by the Taylor Force Act. This law mandates that Israel deduct the amount paid to Palestinian prisoners and families of terrorists from the tax revenue that it sends to the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords.
Related Reading: Memo to NYT, CNN, LA Times: US Taxpayers Have Right to Know If They’re Abetting Palestinian Terrorism
American Enforcement & The Palestinian Response
In June 2018, following the enactment of the Taylor Force Act, the Trump administration froze financial aid to the PA pending review. This included halting funds to UNRWA and the USAID office for the West Bank and Gaza.
However, in 2021, the Biden administration announced that it was resuming aid to the Palestinians, including $150 million to UNRWA, $75 million in economic aid to the West Bank and Gaza, and $10 million for peacebuilding programs.
In response to concerns that this aid would contravene the Taylor Force Act, USAID claimed that it would only support activities that are “in accordance with anti-terrorism requirements and all relevant US laws” while the State Department confirmed that all aid would be in line with US legislation.
One way that this aid may be in line with the Taylor Force Act is that it is sent directly to other organizations rather than the PA.
Palestinian Support for Pay-For-Slay Continues
Ever since the United States and Israel adopted legislation that works to financially combat Palestinian terrorism, Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority have stood steadfast in their continued support of pay-for-slay.
In 2018, Abbas openly declared that “If we are left with one penny, we will spend it on the families of the prisoners and martyrs” and in May 2022, Abbas announced that he is still committed “to the rights of the families of the martyrs and prisoners.”
While Abbas’ statements might seem like mere populism, it is interesting to note that according to a 2017 survey, two-thirds of Palestinians are opposed to prisoners and families of killed terrorists receiving bonus funds aside from regular social welfare payments.
As long as Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority continue to incentivize terrorism and violence against Israelis by promising lucrative financial compensation to those serving prison sentences or to the families of those killed while committing violence, the Taylor Force Act will continue to be an important tool in fighting Palestinian terrorism and protecting the lives of both Israelis and foreign nationals in the Jewish state.
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