Jerusalem, 29 October, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday banned International Red Cross representatives from visiting Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons. Critics of the Red Cross say the visits facilitate the Palestinian Authority’s controversial “pay for slay” salaries distributed to security prisoners.
“The opinions presented to me indicate without a doubt that this would constitute a serious harm to state security,” Katz said.
Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch, told The Press Service of Israel that the visits enable prisoners to fill out and sign paperwork necessary for the Palestinian Authority to begin making the payments.
“The Palestinian terrorists cannot get monthly salaries known as ‘pay for slay’ until they’re visited by a Red Cross representative who fills out a power of attorney form with them, which the Red Cross representative gives to the Palestinian Commissioner of Prisoners. This is a condition for their receiving money,” Marcus explained. “The simplest thing for Israel to do is to prohibit Red Cross visits. That would be the end of new prisoners receiving P.A. salaries.”
In addition, prisoners awaiting trial are visited every three months because some prisoners are released before trial without the P.A.’s knowledge. Documents certifying the visit are given to the Palestinian Commissioner of Prisoners.
“This is an outrageous visit,” Marcus stressed. “The Red Cross could claim that the first visit is to establish contact with new prisoners, and that might be routine for all prisoners worldwide. But to go every three months and confirm they’re still prisoners for the sole purpose of receiving a salary means that the Red Cross is an absolute facilitator of rewarding terror. It should be illegal, and it should be criminal.”
Despite the release of more than 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire with Hamas, Marcus said there are 9,100 Palestinians imprisoned who are collecting P.A. salaries or eligible for them. He cited weekly figures from the Palestinian Commissioner of Prisoners.
The Palestinian Authority allocates more than $350 million annually to pay salaries to terrorists in Israeli prisons and to the families of killed terrorists. Payouts range from $400–$3,400 per month, depending on time served. For comparison, P.A. welfare benefits to ordinary Palestinians range from $60–$170 per month, depending on need. The highest payouts go to those serving the longest sentences — usually those who participated in attacks killing multiple Israelis.
Israeli officials say the payouts provide incentives for terror and regularly offset an equivalent amount from taxes that Israel collects on behalf of the P.A. Israeli law allows families of the victims to collect judgments directly from the frozen funds.
Ramallah has been paying out stipends for years, but the issue came under a spotlight following the 2018 murder of Taylor Force, a U.S. citizen killed by a Palestinian who went on a stabbing rampage in Jaffa.
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