Jerusalem, 27 October, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused the Palestinian Authority on Monday of maintaining its “pay-for-slay” program despite repeated promises to end it, saying even prisoners freed under the Gaza ceasefire deal continue to receive financial rewards.
Speaking in Budapest with hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó, Sa’ar said, “Contrary to the PA’s promises in English, they are continuing their pay-for-slay policy.” He asserted that the authority merely “changed the method,” not the substance, of the payments. “The terrorists are collecting their payments from the Palestinian post office,” he said, adding that “the PA is now making additional payments to evil terrorists released as part of the [ceasefire] deal.”
Sa’ar offered no further details, and the Foreign Ministry declined to elaborate. His remarks follow a February decree in which the PA, under U.S. pressure, formally repealed a law that guaranteed monthly stipends to convicted terrorists and the families of those killed in attacks against Israelis. The United States has yet to verify that the payouts actually stopped.
Sa’ar also accused European governments of ignoring the policy, arguing that the European Union grants the PA “legitimacy without accountability.” He said the continuation of the payments, along with what he described as anti-Israel incitement in Palestinian schools, mosques, and media, “pushes peace further away.”
“Instead of demanding accountability from the PA, the European Union whitewashes it. They ignore the ongoing crime of paying terrorists and, in practice, encourage terror,” he said.
Referring to Washington’s latest peace initiative for Gaza, Sa’ar noted that the document draws on former U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2020 “Deal of the Century,” which made ending the payment scheme a condition for Palestinian statehood. “Until today,” he said, “the PA has failed to meet the required criteria, as determined by President Trump.”
The Palestinian Authority allocates seven percent of its annual budget for its so-called “Martyr’s Fund,” which provides the stipends. The size of the monthly payouts is primarily determined by the duration of the terrorist’s incarceration, with a negligible additional factor based on family size. PA salaries to security prisoners in Israeli prisons range from $400–$3,400 per month, depending on the sentence. Those who participated in terror attacks killing Israelis — thus receiving the most severe sentences — got the highest payouts.
For comparison, PA welfare benefits to ordinary Palestinians range from $60–$170 per month depending on need.
Israeli officials say the stipends provide incentives for terror and regularly offset an equivalent amount from taxes that Israel collects on behalf of the PA.
Ramallah has been paying out stipends for years, but the issue came under a spotlight following the murder of Taylor Force, a U.S. citizen killed by a Palestinian who went on a stabbing rampage in Jaffa in 2018. Congress passed the Taylor Force Act, which halted U.S. aid to the Palestinians as long as terror stipends are paid out.
Sa’ar also presented Szijjártó with a personal letter from former hostage Omri Mirán, a Hungarian national. Mirán and six other hostages were released on Oct. 13.
“Hungary played an important role in the fight for Omri’s freedom. I remember our conversations on the subject and the efforts we both invested. As a sign of recognition, Omri asked me to personally deliver a letter of thanks to you. The people of Israel will never forget your part in the struggle for freedom. Thank you for that,” Sa’ar said.
“But the struggle is not over yet. Hamas still holds 13 of our dead hostages. This is a clear violation of the agreement. We know that Hamas is able to return most of the dead hostages easily. It is delaying the return and returning them at a slow and calculated pace in order to postpone the second stage—its disarmament. Hamas is behaving barbarically, abusing families who have been waiting for more than two years and only ask to bring their sons for burial. Hamas must immediately return all the bodies it holds,” he added.
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