By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
RAMALLAH/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he remains committed to payments to families of prisoners convicted of terror against Israel or to loved ones of those who died while carrying out acts of terrorism.
His comments on what his critics call “pay-to-slay” payments came despite him issuing a decree that was supposed to end the scheme amid frictions over the issue with the United States.
It was not immediately clear whether the return of fiercely pro-Israel Donald J. Trump to the White House played a role in the decision.
In video footage seen by Worthy News, Abbas told the 12th session of his Fatah party’s Revolutionary Council, the Palestinian legislature in the West Bank, that the Palestinian Authority would continue the payments. “I told you once, and I stand by my word, that if we have only a single penny left, it will go to the prisoners and the martyrs,” he said.
“I will not allow [anyone] – and neither will you – to remove any commitment, interest, or penny that is given to them.”
The closing statement of the Revolutionary Council session, issued on February 22, affirmed the council’s commitment to “redouble the efforts to support and assist the prisoners in the occupation jails.”
It described them as “heroes of [the struggle for] freedom who are first in line for protection and sponsorship.”
It was not immediately clear what impact the statement would have on U.S. support for the Palestinians in the West Bank, also known as Judea and Samaria.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Israeli officials are preparing to brief President Donald Trump on new military options against Iran when he meets later this month with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid growing concern that Tehran is rapidly rebuilding its ballistic missile program and restoring damaged air defenses, according to an NBC News exclusive citing a person with direct knowledge of the plans and multiple former U.S. officials.
Israel, Greece, and Cyprus have agreed to accelerate a long-discussed regional energy and security partnership, pledging deeper cooperation amid rising instability in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean.
The United States has seized another crude oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking the second such operation in less than two weeks as President Donald Trump intensifies pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his government.
Ukraine’s military says it is attempting to halt a Russian incursion into a border village in the northeastern Sumy region, even as diplomatic efforts continue to seek an end to the nearly four-year war.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for “peaceful coexistence” as his nation marked the first anniversary of a deadly car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in eastern Germany that revived a debate about the influx of migrants from mainly Muslim countries.
With Christmas approaching, a Christian worker and his family have fled a brick kiln in Pakistan where they were effectively held in modern-day slavery by their Muslim employer, amid continuing concerns over the safety of Christian girls in the mainly Islamic nation, investigators told Worthy News.
Jerusalem will host a high-level trilateral summit on Monday as Israel, Greece, and Cyprus move to deepen security, energy, and strategic cooperation amid growing concern over Turkey’s expanding military posture in the eastern Mediterranean.