Sa’ar says PA continuing to pay terrorists under ‘pay-for-slay’ policy, despite promises

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accuses the Palestinian Authority of continuing its controversial “pay-for-slay” policy despite pledges to end it, saying that Palestinian terror convicts, including those released under the current ceasefire deal in Gaza, are continuing to benefit from the policy. He accuses European governments of turning a blind eye to the practice.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Budapest alongside his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjártó, Sa’ar says that “Contrary to the PA’s promises in English, they are continuing their pay-for-slay policy.” He claims the PA has merely “changed the method” of the policy, rather than actually halting it.

“The terrorists are collecting their payments from the Palestinian post office. And the PA is now making additional payments to evil terrorists released as part of the [ceasefire] deal,” he says.

Sa’ar does not offer further details on how payments are being carried out. The Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for more details.

Following US pressure, the PA signed a decree in February canceling a law that established a longstanding welfare system that included payments to the families of slain terrorists and the families of security prisoners held in Israeli jails, dubbed “pay-for-slay” by critics. However, the US has so far not confirmed that the payments have stopped.

Sa’ar also denounces the European Union for granting the PA “legitimacy without accountability” by failing to acknowledge the ongoing practice, arguing that the policy, along with continued incitement in Palestinian schools, media, and mosques, “pushes peace further away.”

Sa’ar adds that US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza references Trump’s 2020 so-called “Deal of the Century” plan for a permanent resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which demanded that the PA end the policy, claiming that, “Until today, the PA has failed to meet the required criteria, as determined by President Trump.”

The foreign minister also reiterates Israel’s refusal to cooperate with UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which Israel accuses of being infiltrated by Hamas.