Defense Ministry reveals: This is what a terrorist makes

Yoav Zitun

A terrorist who is an Israeli citizen, married with three children, and serving a life sentence, will receive NIS 10,950 from the Palestinian Authority every month for the rest of his life; Israel sets out to pass legislation to deduct sums from PA tax money.

The Defense Ministry on Tuesday revealed how much money the Palestinian Authority pays terrorists serving prison sentences in Israel.
In 2017, the Palestinian Authority paid prisoners and freed prisoners over NIS 550 million, while families of killed or wounded terrorists received some NIS 687 million. This constituted some seven percent of the PA’s overall budget.

According to the data from the PA, a terrorist sentenced to three to five years in prison gets NIS 2,000 a month, while one sentenced to 20-35 years will get NIS 10,000 a month for the rest of his life.

– A married terrorist gets an additional NIS 300 a month, and if he has children he gets an additional NIS 50 per child.
– Terrorists who are Jerusalem residents get an additional NIS 300, while terrorists with Israeli citizenship get an additional NIS 500 a month.

For example, a terrorist who is an Israeli citizen, married with three children, and serving a life sentence, will receive NIS 10,950 ($3,172.65) every month. Meanwhile, the average wage in the West Bank is just a little over NIS 2,000 a month.

Terrorists released in the Shalit deal (Photo: AP)

The data was included in a memorandum attached to the Law to Prevent Payments to Terrorists and Their Families by the Palestinian Authority.

According to the memorandum, at the end of every year the defense minister would present a report concluding the annual payments made by the PA to terrorists to the Security Cabinet for approval. In accordance with that report, the sum will be deducted from the tax money Israel collects on behalf of the PA.

“The Palestinian Authority pays over NIS 1 billion a year to terrorists and their families and thus encourages and perpetuates terrorism,” Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.

“The moment the payments and their amounts are set in accordance with the gravity of the offense and the length of the prison sentence, this constitutes funding of terror attacks against Israeli citizens. There’s nothing that illustrates the PA’s support of terrorism more. It is our duty to put an end to it,” he concluded.