After illicit payments to prisoners, PA says stipends must go through new system

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s office issues a statement reiterating that a recently revamped welfare foundation is the only body certified to issue welfare stipends to Palestinians, after The Times of Israel revealed that recent payments had been made through an old mechanism that critics dub “pay-to-slay,” since it rewards prisoners, including convicted terrorists, and families of dead assailants.

“The Palestinian National Economic Empowerment Institution (PNEEI) is the sole entity responsible” for paying financial allocations to welfare recipients in line with the reform signed by Abbas in February, the statement from his office says.

The statement adds that no welfare stipend will be transferred to any group under the new system unless they have submitted an application through PNEEI.

The announcement does not explicitly mention Palestinian security prisoners or the families of those killed in confrontations with Israel (“martyrs”), though they are a significant group that, until earlier this year, received fixed monthly payments from the Palestinian Authority.

The presidency calls on “all eligible beneficiaries to fully cooperate” with PNEEI to ensure stipends reach those entitled to them.”

The statement comes several days after Abbas announced that he had replaced PA finance minister Omar Bitar without providing a reason.

The Times of Israel revealed that Bitar had signed off on payments to prisoners, including new ones, through an old mechanism that rewarded recipients based on the length of their service.

Abbas signed a decree in February purportedly ending that old system in place of a new one run by PNEEI that allocates stipends strictly based on a recipient’s financial status.

The PA came under massive pressure from Western and Arab backers to carry out the reform, and its continued financial support from many of those countries is conditioned on its ability to actually implement it.

In revealing the reason behind Bitar’s firing, a PA official told The Times of Israel that it demonstrated Abbas’s commitment to the reform.

But the incident also revealed the immense domestic pressure the PA is facing from prisoners’ families to continue with the old system.