Israeli Data: The Palestinian Authority Paid Nearly Half a Billion Shekels to the Families of Attackers

SadaNews Economic Translation - Sources told the Israeli English-speaking newspaper Jerusalem Post that the Palestinian Authority paid an amount of nearly half a billion shekels to the families of Palestinian prisoners during the year 2025.

According to the Israeli newspaper, as translated by Sada's Economic Department, ministers were informed that prisoners who were released as part of the latest exchange deals received a "special grant" from the Palestinian Authority.

This information was revealed during an Israeli cabinet meeting held on Sunday. Of the total amount, 395 million shekels were paid to Palestinians currently in prisons, while 92 million shekels were transferred to the families of others who were killed while carrying out attacks.

The newspaper noted that the Palestinian Authority continues its program, which Israel refers to as "paying for killing," despite Israeli and American efforts to stop it.

Reports indicated that Donald Trump's administration threatened last year to impose sanctions on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other senior officials if these payments continued.

In an apparent attempt to avoid such measures, Abbas dismissed the Palestinian finance minister who approved the transfers, but he revealed during an Israeli government meeting that the newly appointed finance minister continued to approve payments to Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli Minister Avi Dichter said during the meeting: "The Palestinian Authority's theatrics will not work; Abu Mazen himself said that the Authority will continue to pay money to the families of terrorists until the last shekel." According to Sada's Economic Translation.

Senior security officials informed Israeli ministers that salaries for Palestinian Authority employees, including teachers, doctors, and nurses, have been reduced in recent months to ensure that payments to Palestinian prisoners and attackers are not affected.

In recent months, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar has raised this issue in talks with senior officials from various countries, including at the United Nations last week.

He affirmed that the Palestinian Authority continues to pay money to "terrorists" despite its claim to have stopped this practice. Sa'ar provided his counterparts with data on these payments and distributed copies of the current Palestinian law that confirms the importance of prisoners and mandates financial support for them.

The average current salary in the Palestinian Authority is about 3,000 shekels per month, while payments to attackers can reach 12,000 shekels per month.

In 2018, Israel enacted a law mandating the freezing of funds equivalent to the amounts paid by the Palestinian Authority related to "terrorism," which are deducted from tax revenues that the Israeli government transfers to the Palestinian Authority.

The annual report submitted to the Israeli cabinet details the total amount paid by the Palestinian Authority's "Martyrs Fund" to attackers and their families during the previous year. In the following year, one-twelfth of this amount is frozen monthly from the tax money Israel transfers to the Palestinian Authority.

According to the data provided to the Israeli government, a total of 4 billion shekels has been frozen under this procedure so far.

Effectively, since 2018, billions of shekels have been transferred by the Palestinian Authority to the families of attackers.

Security officials clarified during the meeting that the announced figures reflect known payments, and it is believed that additional amounts have been transferred through other channels.