Ahmed Barghouti, who masterminded suicide bombing attacks which killed twelve Israelis, walked out of an Israeli prison on Saturday afternoon with more than 1.2 million shekels ($338,00) in his bank account, courtesy Palestinian Authority stipends that Israelis refer to as “pay for slay.”
Similar sums awaited Mansour Shreim and Ahmed Abu Khader. The latter was member of the Palestinian Authority security forces who trained terrorists for suicide missions and carried out shooting attacks. Shreim dispatched terrorists who killed nine Israeli teenagers in separate attacks in 2002.
“The Palestinian Authority pays salaries to the terrorists while they are in Israeli prisons. It is not to support their families – it is actually to reward them for what they did,” Itamar Marcus, head of Palestinian Media Watch, told The Press Service of Israel. “The money is accumulated in the private account of the given terrorist, that is being opened for him immediately after he enters a prison.”
The Palestinian Authority (PA) allocates around $279 million annually to pay salaries to security prisoners in Israeli prisons, which range from $400-$3,400 per month, depending on the sentence. For comparison, PA welfare benefits to ordinary Palestinians range from $60-$170 per month depending on need. Those who participated in terror attacks killing Israelis — thus receiving the most severe sentences — got the highest payouts.