PA spends more on terrorists' stipends than on welfare benefits, report finds

"The payments made by the Palestinian Authority to jailed terrorists and to terrorists' families are much higher than the welfare payments it provides to Palestinians in need, a new report by the Middle East Media Research Institute revealed Wednesday.

The Palestinian Authority spends millions of dollars annually on these stipends, which in 2016 amounted to 1.15 billion shekels ($319 million) -- 7% of the PA's total budget for salaries and about 20% of the foreign aid it received.

The Palestinian Authority's extensive support for prisoners and terrorists' families prompted the United States to halt the transfer of $221 million to Ramallah earlier this year. The Palestinians claimed that the so-called 'martyr' payments -- monthly stipends paid to terrorists and terrorists' families -- were equal to the welfare benefits provided to needy families, arguing that in both cases, the family had lost its primary breadwinner.

But according to the MEMRI report, stipends to prisoners and terrorists' families, appearing in the PA 2017 budget book under a section titled 'The Plan for Protection and Care for the Prisoners and Their Families and Support and Training for Released Prisoners,' are defined as a 'monthly salary' while the welfare payments are only made once every three months (quarterly). A review of the figures showed that the terrorist stipends are sometimes 20 times higher than the welfare benefits provided to needy families.

Most welfare benefits, paid out by the Palestinian Social Development Ministry, reach some NIS 600 ($170) per family, while the maximum monthly stipend paid to prisoners and terrorists' families exceeds NIS 12,000 ($3,300)..."