PA President Abbas revokes 'Pay for Slay' policy in West Bank

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has signed a decree repealing legislation that allocated payments to Palestinian security prisoners based on their sentence length, as well as to families of terrorists killed during attacks, according to a report, citing a Palestinian official.

According to a Times of Israel report, citing the official and Walla news site, the decree specifies that families, along with others needing welfare assistance, will now receive stipends solely based on financial need.

The effort to reform the prisoner payment system has been in progress for over a year and was largely finalised during the Biden administration. However, Ramallah chose to delay the announcement, opting to reserve it as a goodwill gesture for the incoming Trump administration, reported Times of Israel.

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During the transition, top PA officials briefed their counterparts in the incoming Trump administration regarding their plan, the Times of Israel quoted two sources as saying earlier today.

However, the sources believed that the announcement had been put on the back burner following Trump’s declaration last week that he plans to take over Gaza.

The Gaza proposal sent shockwaves throughout the Arab world, which is now in the midst of a full-throttled campaign to oppose the Trump idea.

Palestinian officials told the Times of Israel during the presidential transition process that Ramallah has learned lessons from the way it dealt with Trump during his first term.

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Abbas cut ties with the US after Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017, shortly after he took office, leaving the Palestinians excluded from the Abraham Accords negotiations.

As efforts to involve Saudi Arabia in those accords grew, Ramallah sought to strengthen its relationship with Riyadh, hoping it would link any deal with Israel to a credible path toward a future Palestinian state.

Meanwhile, PA officials indicated to Trump’s aides their willingness to use his 2020 peace plan as a foundation for negotiations.

Today’s decree reflects Ramallah’s latest attempt to enhance ties with Washington and represents a significant victory for Trump, who secured a concession that previous US administrations had long sought.

With inputs from agencies