At a meeting of the Israeli Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday night, it was revealed that 7% of the Palestinian Authority’s budget is currently used to pay salaries to terrorists, both in prison and after they are released, according to a report on the Knesset Channel.
In 2016, the Palestinian Authority Martyr Fund made $170 Million in payments to 35,000 families, including families of suicide bombers.
According to a report in Al-Quds, which was translated by PMW, the amount of money paid out will be increased in 2017:
“In the upcoming period the allowances of the Martyrs’ families will be linked to the cost of living index, which will cause an improvement in these allowances, if only slightly.”[Al-Quds, April 4, 2017]
During his recent visit to the region, President Trump rebuked Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas for these payments, stating unequivocally during his visit in Bethlehem, “Peace can never take root in an environment where violence is tolerated, funded and even rewarded.”
It appears that Abbas wasn’t listening.