The PA has reportedly allocated as much as $355 million from its 2018 total expenditure budget to pay monthly salaries to terrorists and the families of dead attackers. The report shows that the amount the PA has budgeted to spend on the two categories is 7.47% of the total operational budget.
For 2018, the PA budget for the Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs, which pays salaries to terrorist prisoners and released prisoners, is $166 million. Prisoner salaries are directly rewarded to terrorists who have killed Israelis, with higher salaries given to those who have killed more Israelis.
Significantly the report points out that for the first time since 2014, the PA is not trying to conceal the fact it pays salaries to terrorist prisoners. Also, for the first the PA has publically listed the budget for the salaries as a budget expense.
The report comes days after US President Donald Trump signed legislation that would further cut US aid to the Ramallah-based government until it ended the controversial practice.
