Legislation allowing victims of Palestinian terror to more easily claim financial compensation from the Palestinian Authority passed its final reading on Monday in a move targeting Ramallah’s “pay for slay” stipends.
The legislation, which passed by a vote 19-2, goes into effect on June 1.
Itamar Marcus, founder and director of Palestinian Media Watch, explained to The Press Service of Israel that the law means victims no longer have to prove that the PA’s terror stipends make it liable.
“Most of the judges have ruled that [the stipends] are proof of responsibility for the actions of those terrorists. Now it’s consistent with Israeli law,” Marcus told TPS-IL. “The fact that they reward terror makes them responsible. Now, the PA’s automatically held liable.”
The law also establishes a standard of compensation. A terror victim injured in an attack automatically receives five million shekels ($1.3 million) for permanent disabilities. If the victim is killed, the family receives 10 million shekels ($2.7 million).
The law also ensures that compensation that victims receive from the state through the National Security Institute will not be reduced by the same amount as the judgments.
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. The new law allows families to collect judgments against the PA from the frozen funds.
In January, the Palestinian Authority expanded its list of beneficiaries for terror stipends, adding 3,550 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel since the October 7 massacres. According to Palestinian Media Watch, Ramallah will also make payments to more than 20,000 “martyrs,” including terrorists killed fighting Israeli forces in Gaza.
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