By TPS-IL • April 29, 2026
Jerusalem, 29 April, 2026 (TPS-IL) — A new U.S. State Department report submitted to Congress confirms that the Palestinian Authority continues to pay controversial stipends to terrorists and their families, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
According to the ministry, the report relies in part on information provided by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. The Press Service of Israel was unable to independently verify the ministry’s data against the original report, which was not publicly available.
The report, as cited by Israel, states that in 2025 the Palestinian Authority distributed approximately $156 million in payments and benefits to Palestinian prisoners, released prisoners, and the families of individuals killed while carrying out attacks.
Of that total, $126 million was allocated to prisoners and former prisoners, while $30 million was provided to families of attackers who died during the course of their terror attacks, according to the report cited by the ministry.
Israel said the findings demonstrate that the Palestinian Authority has continued the payments despite the Taylor Force Act, a U.S. law that restricts certain American aid over the issue.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the report also notes that payments were transferred through multiple mechanisms, including a welfare body referred to as the Palestinian National Economic Empowerment Institution.
The ministry said the report cites Israeli information indicating that payments continued throughout the reporting period.
It also references documentation from October 2025 showing individuals waiting in line at Palestinian Authority post offices to receive funds, describing this as a standard method of distribution under the system.
According to the statement, the report further notes that similar distributions were documented at multiple locations during that period, and that payments continued despite protests among some released prisoners.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomed the report’s findings, calling them confirmation of Israel’s longstanding claims.
“I thank U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the United States for their clear and moral position,” Sa’ar said in the statement. “I call on the international community: stop legitimizing payments to terrorists.”
The Foreign Ministry said the report reflects information Israel has shared with U.S. officials as part of ongoing discussions on the issue.
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, head of the non-profit Shurat HaDin–Israel Law Center, which has named the Palestinian Authority, Iran, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and North Korea as defendants in lawsuits it has filed, told the Press Service of Israel that the report exposes what she described as the Palestinian Authority’s continued deception.
“Despite the denials of the PA and Abbas’ declarations that it will stop, the payments continue. Because he will never be able to stop taking care of the Palestinian Jihadis and contradict a previous statement in which he said that even if the authority had one dollar left, it would go to the prisoner terrorist,” Darshan-Leitner said.
“They will always pay to those who murdered Jews, and they will always admire them.”
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 — receive 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.
