“Contrary to the Palestinian Authority’s promises in English, it continues the policy of paying salaries to terrorists,” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Monday after meeting Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó in Budapest.
“The PA rewards Palestinian terrorists, including Hamas members with Jewish blood on their hands, both those in prison and those released, for example, in the recent deal. The PA never stopped paying the salaries to terrorists. It only changed the method. On Monday, the terrorists receive the money from Palestinian post office branches,” he said.
Sa’ar added, “Instead of demanding accountability from the PA, the European Union whitewashes it. They ignore the ongoing crime of paying terrorists and, in practice, encourage terror. They seek to reward the PA with a state of its own. President Trump’s 20-point plan stated clearly that there will be no legitimacy for the PA without real reforms.
It said the PA must take all necessary steps for the immediate cessation of paying salaries to terrorists imprisoned in Israel and to the families of terrorists who were killed. To this day, the PA has failed to meet those criteria. I call on responsible and moral European leaders to follow Hungary’s example. Hold the PA to account. Stop paying salaries to terrorists now.”
The Jerusalem Post has already reported that a watchdog alleges the PA quietly continued such payments. On Sunday, Palestinian Media Watch said stipends to security prisoners and to families of “martyrs” were paid through PA post offices on Saturday morning, without an official announcement, and recipients reported receiving 50% of the monthly amount, in line with partial salaries paid to PA civil servants amid a fiscal crunch.
The watchdog published messages from recipients and traced a two-week timeline of protests and unofficial guidance that post offices would open on Saturday for the transfers.
European capitals have recently praised PA “reforms.” On September 25, France said it “welcomes the reforms already underway by the Palestinian Authority, including the abrogation of the prisoners’ payment system, which is now effective.”
Earlier, on June 23, the European Commission pledged €150 million in budgetary support to help the PA pay public-sector salaries as part of a reform-linked package.
Abbas issued a decree to overhaul the stipends system
In February, PA President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree to overhaul the stipends system in response to international pressure, shifting to a needs-based welfare framework, according to contemporaneous reports; Israeli officials and critics warned at the time that payments could continue through alternative channels.
Sa’ar’s Budapest remarks come after his bilateral with Szijjártó at Puskás Aréna and a joint press availability. He urged European partners to condition assistance on verifiable cessation of the prisoner and “martyr” stipends. He cited the Trump administration’s 2020 framework that required ending such payments as a prerequisite for broader diplomatic progress.
The PA has long argued the transfers are social-welfare support for families of prisoners and those killed, while Israel and numerous Western lawmakers say the policy incentivizes violence.