This weekend, July 3rd, will mark three years since Israel adopted the “Law to freeze money that the Palestinian Authority has paid in connection with terrorism from the money transferred to it by the government of Israel, 2018” – popularly known as Israel’s “Anti-Pay-for-Slay” law.

In a nutshell, the law provides that every year the Israeli Minister of Defense presents a report to the Israeli Security Cabinet in which he details how much the Palestinian Authority spent in the previous year paying financial rewards to imprisoned terrorists, released terrorists, wounded terrorists, and the families of dead terrorists – collectively known as the PA’s ”Pay-for-Slay” payments.

Since passed, the Security Cabinet has approved three of the four reports submitted by the Minister of Defense (the approval of the fourth report is pending). Symbolically, pursuant to these decisions, and in coincidental coordination with the anniversary of the passage of the law, today also marks the day when over one billion shekels have been deducted from the tax revenues.

Israel was not alone in passing legislation to combat the PA’s “Pay-for-Slay” payments. In March prior to the passage of the Israeli law, the US adopted the Taylor Force Act which conditions US aid to the PA on the complete abolition of the ”Pay-for-Slay” policy, including, inter alia, the 2004 PA Law of Prisoners and Released Prisoners and regulations adopted pursuant to the law.

When given the choice of receiving US aid or continuing to reward terrorists, the PA chose to reward terrorists.

Indeed, despite the deductions and while aware of the consequences, the PA has made the positive decision to give precedence to continue paying the terror rewards, while ignoring the suicidal financial constraints.

As PMW recently exposed, PA TV is repeatedly showing a video of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in which he declares that even if the PA is left with only one penny he will pay it to the terrorists:

While combatting the PA’s “Pay-for-Slay” payments is not simple, and will take time, it is nonetheless a moral imperative. Slowly, but surely, Israeli’s Anti-Pay-for-Slay law together with the Taylor Force Act and other measures, some of which have already been adopted while others still need to be adopted, will make a difference, and the PA will be forced to abolish its policy of rewarding terror, or face the consequences.